The Start of Pain : A Sequel
by AngelicSpring
Summary: With Natalie kidnapped and Angelle in a coma, Ian comes up with a plan that brings them to division like never before. Could they defeat the Vespers in conflicting groups or would they perish before they could appreciate teamwork and swallow their pride?
1. PROLOGUE

**If you haven't read The Start of Train yet, this story would be rather difficult to understand because **_**The Start of Train**_** and yes, **_**The Start of Pain**_** are heading towards a path we call Alternate Reality. Both stories are what COULD BE (or could have been, if I was one of the authors, haha XD) as long as Cahills remain Cahills. **

**DISClAIMER: I do not own The 39 Clues and anything at all which is related to it. I do not own iPhone 4S and everything which you think doesn't belong to me. **

**On with the reading. **

**oooooOooooo**

**PROLOGUE.**

Alistair Oh cannot believe all of their hard work would lead only to their demise.

It started from an accident, really. After hearing what happened to the children, he had a little... mishap of his own. His heart decided it would be a perfect time to have a nervous breakdown. He was rushed to the nearest hospital and after a few days of staying in the 'world-class, internationally known medical institution in the world', his personal Ekat doctor became 'acquainted' with an undercover Lucian 'doctor' who has been working in the hospital for a couple of years.

The said Lucian doctor told them that this institution was originally built by a Vesper who wanted nothing more than to hide their organization's sinister ways. "It is the perfect plan," he says, "because nobody would think that charity could be used to conceal something evil." Alistair paused to ponder at his statement, remembering how his Uncle Bae Oh manipulated people in the same way. "But, an old trick nevertheless," Lucian doctor continues, chuckling.

Being the lone, three individuals who carry the Cahill lineage in the place, they set about making a plan of obtaining as much data as they could. But after unerringly five days of this stealth operation, the Vespers are starting to doubt their rather long stay in the hospital.

So, they needed to work fast.

It was already too late. Apparently, the Vespers have doubted 'Lucian doctor' for a very long time and were only keeping him close because they were sure he would babble as soon as he gets out of their grasp.

And they couldn't afford that.

And now, presently, irrevocably, as Alistair stares right into the muzzle of life and death, all he could say was, "Where are they?"

Casper Wyoming (thought to be far from alive after the kidnapping) chuckled before adjusting the lapel of his lab coat. "You mean my supposed colleagues? I am inclined to think that they are now travelling a pathway I like to call, death." He smiled, his face curling up into a menacing, stomach-turning sneer. "Oh don't worry, old man. You'll be joining them soon enough." He flicked the hammer of his single-action revolver, his finger itching to press the trigger.

Alistair laughed for all that it was worth. "If you must know, Mr. Wyoming, you are terribly late. All there is that you are protecting, as you say, is safely in the hands of my people. I am positive that they are now... answering my calls and their answer lies underneath." He smiled warmly, a naughty gleam in his wise eyes.

Casper raised an eyebrow_. Old people nowadays, can't help but think that they are all a bunch of lunatics. Clearly made to be... disposed. Let the old man play his games for a little longer._ He let out a hard chuckle, full of avarice and wrath. "And what is that supposed to mean, may I ask?"

Alistair looked out of the window and into the night sky. "Formed long ago, yet made today, employed while others sleep. What few would like to give away nor any wish to keep." He breathed out a reposed aura, oddly fitted to a relaxing vacation rather than a murder scene. "As the children say nowadays, your secrets are... busted."

Casper growled. He has no way of knowing if this old geezer is still in his right mind, but he couldn't risk it. This old burrito man is getting in his nerves. He sighed. _The decision is made then_. And with a final mocking laugh, Casper Wyoming pulled the trigger.

Two continents, hundreds of thousands of miles away from the hospital, the Ekats were left with nothing but static.

**oooooOooooo**

Hamilton Holt scratched the back of his head awkwardly. She told him to specifically wait for her in this specific spot outside the girls' dormitory in the Cahill manor. And so, like an idiot, he patiently waits. As minutes turned to hours, he couldn't help but hear those loud sobs which managed to escape from the locked door, the agitated raising of voice and the desperate pleas. _It's amazing how a particular, interrupting phone call could make her dissolve to tears, but our four-hour-non-stop, lung-bursting arguing does not._ Hamilton sighed dejectedly.

The wails inside the room grew louder. He bit his lip. _Maybe I should..._ He shook his head, some of his blonde hair breaking free from its gelled shark-like formation. _No, I shouldn't. Because she specifically told me..._ You get the point. He's been debating with himself whether or not he should just go in. It always ends up with a negative. He has zilch clue of what was going on.

"What did you say his last words were?" Her voice came a little bit more frantic than usual. There was a hurried sound of pen scratching on paper. "Yeah? Yeah? No, I think you're right. There must be something hidden in this."

_Last words?_ Hamilton furrowed his eyebrows in utter confusion. _Who were they talking about exactly? Did something –_

"No. Uncle Alistair is too smart for that. He expects us to know the answer," Sinead continued, her tone changing into something akin to defiance.

That made the young Tomas stop. His eyes widened as the realization dawned on him. _Alistair? They were talking about Alistair Oh?_ Without really noticing, his feet dragged him closer to the door.

"What if he's not –" Hamilton could hear how her voice broke painfully. His hand hovered on the doorknob. "No. What if...?" _What if he's not dead?_

"I understand. I'll call you as soon as we get something. Yes, we. The three of us... and the other Cahills. Yes. Thank you."

The door opened unexpectedly, making Hamilton topple forward none-too-gently, but thankfully he caught his balance before he could brutally crash into Sinead.

The aforementioned girl, amidst the implausibly red face, the hoarse voice and puffy eyes, found the spirit to raise a demanding eyebrow at the said curious Holt. "Were you eavesdropping?"

"No," Hamilton said, a little too loudly and defensively. Sinead Starling would be stupid to believe this and no, she is nowhere near stupid, thank you very much. The other eyebrow perked up dangerously. Hamilton sighed. He would be stupid to even think about not telling the truth and yes, he values his life, thank you for asking. "I mean, I sort of... overheard," he added with a grin albeit nervously.

"'Overheard'?" Sinead repeated slowly, her eyes daring him to make up another excuse. "I see." Then, she shrugged and started to walk away.

Hamilton saw this as abnormally normal, but decided not to mention it and kept up with her pace. "Where are we going?"

"I'm hungry."

If anything, that shocked Hamilton more than anything that happened five minutes ago. _Okaay... That's new._

They walked in silence after that without anyone choosing to break the silence. Hamilton walked at her wake, thinking that she would probably want it that way. But even if he's trailing a little behind her, he knows her enough to know that tears are cascading down her cheeks.

And that there's nothing he could do about it.

"I still think Ian's plan is stupid and pointless," she told him with a voice becoming thick from crying, making Hamilton remember their argument before the phone call.

_Ah, so we're back to 'Hamilton-how-could-you-even have-an-inkling-of-a-thought-of-joining-Ian's-reckless-plan-yadda-yadda'._ Hamilton Holt offered a resigned-for-now nod, promising that he would argue with her much, much later.

**oooooOooooo**

His fingers brushed yet another batch of stray blonde hair. His eyes traced the unmoving features of one Angelle Saunders. The pale face, framed with conditioned blonde hair (thanks to the constant brushing by her little sister), distorted only slightly by the tubes from the mechanical ventilator. Her breathing comes in slow ups and downs of her chest, occasionally turning into hurried gasps. These hurried gasps keep him up at night, leaving him wondering if she would wake up soon. Her fingers would sometimes twitch in the slightest way possible, making him grasp into a fragile string of hope.

The eerie silence is disrupted by the constant beeping of the heart monitor.

Every beep signifies another second of life passing by, another moment spent asleep.

_That's it. I've made up my mind. _

Jonah Wizard fished his iPhone 4S from his coat pocket. Today he makes a decision.

"Hey, yo. Ian? Yeah. No, I know what time it is. Yeah. Anyhoo... It's me Jonah. Yeah. Count me in."

**oooooOooooo**

The doorbell must have ringed a total of six times before Amy Cahill decided it wasn't a Cahill paying them a lovely visit.

_Because if it was, the door would have been in little, pitiful wooden pieces by now. _

"Okay, okay, I'm coming already," Amy said a little louder over the merciless knocking on the door. "Hold your horses." She threw open their front door, not having even the least chance to adjust her slightly annoyed expression when she saw who was outside.

Evan Tolliver stood just outside their doorway, struggling with a couple of luggage which looked like it was holding clothes enough for months use. "Hey, Ames."

Amy's breath caught in her throat. _What is he doing here? Haven't we – _"I-I... What are you...?" she stammered, faltering feebly.

Ian Kabra appeared at her side as stealthy as ever, looking at the visitor as if he was expecting him. His jet-black hair, as pristine as could be, clashed with the shadows under his eyes. His amber eyes blazed and looking closely, one would notice the hollowness of his cheekbones, obscured only by his occasional scowl and/or smirk. "Where is the other one?" he drawled, his British accent as commanding as ever.

Evan rolled his eyes at him which is kind of surprising since during his 'stay' at the mansion, he was terrified of Ian. "The other one is waking another one who happens to be his brother. And both are humans. Remember, humans? Breathing and with dignity?"

Amy's face scrunched into a look of utter confusion. _What - or who - are they even talking about?_ "Would someone please explain what's –" She was cut-off by another addition to their awkward group.

"Hey, guys. Yo, Kabra. Atticus, would you _please_ move those feet faster?" An exasperated sigh.

An annoyed grunt. "I am _trying_ here. Just because you're years older... and taller."

Amy peered behind Evan and nearly crashed faces with Jake Rosenbloom, followed closely by his little brother, Atticus.

"Oh, I'm sorry, Amy," Ian said, as if only realizing her presence. He ran a hand through his hair, a sign that he was thinking of a fast one. "I forgot to tell you that I invited them. It's getting a bit lonely in here, don't you think?" He spoke mechanically, barely glancing at Amy as he spoke. "Hamilton Holt is planning a Secret Santa whatnot this coming Christmas, right? Besides, Daniel is going on about more being merrier."

Amy glared at him. _Did he really think I was born yesterday, dropped in a truck of turnips and dumped in the Cahill world? Huh, it takes more than an ostensibly innocent statement to throw me off track._ "This has something to do with your 'brilliant' plan, doesn't it?"

Ian Kabra chose not to respond.

**oooooOooooo**

**What is Ian's plan? What happened to Alistair Oh? What are Evan and Jake doing in the Cahill mansion? Will Angelle ever wake up? Where is Natalie Kabra? And why, The Start of Pain? **

**Tell me what you want to happen, expect to happen and knew would happen by pressing that little button called 'Review'. **

**I just want to thank those people who wanted me to continue **_**The Start of Train**_**, those who voted on my poll, those who continuously reviewed for an instalment. I cannot thank you enough. I admit that I am nervous and terrified of putting up a sequel because I do not want to disappoint anybody. A lot of people have supported and is supporting (up until now) **_**The Start of Train**_**. So once again, I am here to ask for your help again in weaving this story. **

**AngelicSpring is now wishing you an amazingly late Merry Christmas and Happy New Year! **

**Read and Review. **


	2. The First Chapter

**How angry are you with me? **

**...**

**Yeah. I thought so, too. I'm sorry I haven't been updating for like... a month? It's just we're down to like four weeks of classes and we need to fulfil all our requirements. A total of seven projects due on the last week of February. If we want to graduate. **

**Peachy, ain't it? Anyhoo, this is another instalment of The Start of Pain. And yes, The Start of Pain is a sequel. The preceding story is on my account. XD**

**Watch out for grammatical errors and give me a heads-up. XD Thanks ever so much :) **

**I do not own The 39 Clues... That's why I'm on . :P **

**Read on.**

**oooooOooooo**

**Chapter 1**

There was angry shouting inside the kitchen. That said, let us now activate our prior knowledge. If there is angry shouting, then certainly there must be a lot of intense arguing. Therefore, it is safe to say that people in their clearest state of mind should _not_ - at any cost - get near, even on a ten-mile-radius distance, from said room.

But of course, if you're a Cahill from the line of Lucians or Ekats or Tomas or Janus or Madrigals, living in the Cahill manor for the past few weeks, you wouldn't have to activate any prior knowledge. It is already a law of nature that if Amy Cahill raises her voice and Ian Kabra strains not to raise his voice back, you should keep your distance.

But, then again. Cahills don't do 'keep your distance'. Never did and never will.

And so, they – all of them including the Rosenblooms and Tolliver – crouched beside Dan and Hamilton, both of whom are too busy concentrating on listening to what was going on inside the room through their drinking glass. For a Cahill, eavesdropping by hearing through a glass (let's say, a glass of water) pressed against a wall is pretty... amateur. Surely they could do better.

Let us just assume that desperate times call for desperate measures.

"And Kabra says," Hamilton started, sounding like a sports announcer from a boxing match.

Dan cleared his throat importantly. "'I don't care if you think I'm endangering my life, Amy,'" he said, his countless times of imitating Ian's British accent finally paying off. Dan sounded a tad more like Ian. "'All of us are entitled to make our own choices. Or are the Madrigals keeping us from that right, too?'"

Everybody winced at that. It was a low accusation and all of them knew that. Dan was pretty sure that last line made Amy wince, too.

"Insert Amy's sigh," Hamilton said, his eyebrows creasing, "continuing with a, 'Nobody ever said we're keeping you from making your own decisions, Ian.'"

"'All I want you to realize is that,'" Dan continued, his eyebrows scrunched in deep concentration, "'we really don't have any concrete idea of what could happen if we pursued with this plan of yours. Are you really willing to risk lives, Ian?'"

Sinead smacked Hamilton's arm. Hard. "That's exactly what I said," she told him smugly.

Hamilton made a face at her not because of the smack, but more on the fact that she even tried to smack him. The girl never learns.

"'If Dan was in Natalie's position, what would you have done?'" Dan whispered. His voice had gone oddly soft that it was a bit harder to understand. Regardless, all of them knew who said that.

Nobody from both rooms spoke for quite a long moment. Silence ensued for a moment more.

"You know," Jake said, voicing his musings loudly. "Although, Amy has her own reasonable views, Ian sort of has a point."

Evan nodded slowly, deliberating the situation. "If only I had a sister, I would have done what Ian wants to do. We couldn't blame him for that." His glasses shone against the luminescence of the fluorescent above them. "Especially when Natalie's in the hands of his bro – I mean, half-brother."Apparently, Ian found it necessary to fill Jake and Evan with necessary information about current issues in the Cahill family. This so they could be of more help.

"Evil half-brother," Atticus added as if that made things better. Which didn't or wouldn't for that matter.

Sinead sighed irritably. The only ones who think this plan is pointless and futile are her and Amy. And maybe Angelle, if only she was awake. "Do you really think that barging into the Vs headquarters would be the most brilliant plan in the world? Ekats are not much into strategies, but even I could tell that even if Ian and his little troop of three," she glared pointedly at Hamilton, "bring the latest technology with them in their hot pursuit, nothing would happen."

"The Vespers would just treat their attack as a petty game of hide-and-seek," Ned commented, rolling his eyes at the redundancy of everything. They've had this conversation over and over for the past days and if only he knew, he would've recorded the first five times and played it when necessary.

"Exactly!" Sinead exclaimed indignantly. "They don't even know what they're looking for and where to look for." Her fingers were slowly curling into fists.

Hamilton cleared his throat and raised his hand. "Uh, excuse me, but we do know what we're looking for and that is Natalie. Not to mention where to look. We know one possible main headquarters."

"_Possible_ being a subjective term," Sinead interjected haughtily.

"And I really don't see how our conversation became one of your businesses."

All attention swivelled to Ian and Amy who were trying their best to keep their distance from each other. Strands of reddish-brown hair fell from Amy's ponytail and she blew them away from her face exasperatedly. Ian had his hands stuffed deep in his pockets, eyeing all of them with disdain.

Dan straightened and faced Ian clearly unimpressed. "It became our business since we became Cahills, Cobra." He snorted mockingly. "What I don't see is how we aren't included in this so-called conversation of yours."

"He's right, ya know," Ted supplied, clapping Dan on the shoulder. "Why do you keep on talking about this rescue mission with the two of you as your own audience? You never know, we might have something to share."

Reagan yawned hugely. "What they are trying to say is that they have an alternative plan," she said sleepily.

Madison looked blankly at her twin. "They do?" she asked, dumbfounded.

Reagan pointed her thumb at Sinead. "Smart girl has, I think."

"You do?" Amy asked the auburn-haired girl who was suddenly took quite an interest on the velvet carpet.

Sinead didn't answer. She bit her lip, looking as if she's considering something huge and she can't afford to lose. She looked up, opened her mouth and closed it again.

"Well?" Ian prodded impatiently. "Are you going to speak or not?"

Hamilton shot him an annoyed look. "Can't you see –"

"I'm thinking," Sinead cut him off, still biting her lip. "That maybe we should try a different angle first."

"What kind of angle?" Ian said dubiously, raising a demanding eyebrow at her.

"A sure-win angle," Sinead shot back. Ian's cockiness is slowly creeping into her nerves and it wouldn't be pretty if it went farther than that.

Amy looked nothing more than baffled. "That being...?"

"She's talking about Alistair Oh," Hamilton said, noticing that Sinead's discomfort. "Something happened and it's clearly Vespers activity."

A collected gasp of shock silenced everybody. Phoenix and Keightlyn looked at each other with eyes widened by fear. "What –"

"I need to speak with a chosen few," Sinead interjected, before anybody could ask what happened. The lesser audience, the lesser people who would see her crumble to that pain again.

**xxxOOOxxx**

"So that's what happened," Amy mumbled, feeling another entire weight pressed on her shoulders. _Weight, huh? The product of force and acceleration due to gravity. Nine-point-eight meters per seconds squared and –_

Ian was looking at her. "So, doesn't all this prove my point that we need to act fast?" A smirk so huge it was the size of Atlantic Ocean donned his features.

Sinead couldn't take it anymore. She smacked Ian upside the head with her sketchpad which she so conveniently brought with her to explain the situation clearly. "You just don't get it, do you?" she exploded at him, shooting up from her seat. "I told all of you what happened to Uncle Alistair because I want us to work together to solve his cryptic message and head to that hospital! Not as an affirmative to your suicidal plan!"

Ian barely paid attention to her shrieking. He was too busy digesting the fact that this girl just smacked him on the head. "Did you just hit me?" he asked quietly, not quite believing his statement himself.

Hamilton sniggered. "Dude, get over it."

"Moving on," Amy said, pointedly looking at Ian. "We should consider Sinead's –"

"No, we don't!" Ian shouted, glaring daggers at her. "We can't waste anymore time! How stupid can the lot of you get?" Ian was standing now and leaning towards Amy.

"Hey, hey, no trash talking around here," Dan interrupted, his fingers clasped together in front of him, sitting with his back properly straightened like a judge in the court.

Nobody heard him though, for all of them continued with their scream-fest. "Look, Ian. We are not stupid or daft or a bunch of useless gits," Amy angrily shot back, using Ian's derogatory terms which he uses frequently lately. She also stood from where she sat and was leaning towards at him, too. "If you'd just be _humble_ enough to accept that there's a perfectly thought-of plan in front of you!"

Ian growled, slamming his fists on the dining table. "Amy, do you realize what Starling's plan wanted us to do?" He continued even before Amy could open her mouth to say something. "She's asking us to wait! To stay here deciphering some godforsaken code, for heaven's sake! Pray tell me, what the point in _that_ is exactly?"

Hamilton rolled his eyes at Sinead. "Hey, Ian, dude. Chillax, 'kay? Let's talk about this maturely."

Ian switched the intensity of his death glare to him. "I would be mature, if people around here would start being such," he spat, sparing the rest of them a demanding glance.

"Oh, so now we're immature," Amy huffed, glaring at him with the full intensity of her jade-green eyes. She chuckled darkly. "Unbelievable."

"Every minute we spend arguing," Ian spat though gritted teeth, clenching his fists against his sides, "is another moment we let Natalie stay with that beast."

Amy and Ian stared each other down. "Fine, then," Amy snapped, resuming back on her seat. "You want to have things your way, fine. Do your plan or whatever you call it."

"And?" Ian asked dubiously because obviously there is a catch with Amy's supposed resignation.

"We'll proceed with our own."

Hamilton was already nodding when he did a double-take. "Wait, what?" he spluttered, thinking that maybe he heard wrong.

Sinead looked confused for a moment, but she seemed to understand where Amy was heading. And from the satisfied look on her face, she is completely on the same page as her.

Ian's amber eyes glinted dangerously before he arranged his features into an interrogating serenity. "I see. And how do you plan on doing that exactly?" he asked Amy, clearly challenging her.

"We are independent enough to make our own plans," Amy told him. "Or, do you doubt our abilities?"

Ian smiled. It was a humourless, warmth-less and challenging smile. "I see. Do as you please then." And with that, he left the room with a satisfied repose. He finally got what he wanted after all.

Hamilton stared after his wake, not quite digesting what happened yet. "Whoa. What just happened?"

"Girl power," Sinead replied, suppressing a smile.

Hamilton shot her an annoyed look. "And girls go on about men being sexist." He grunted, clearly upset by the sudden turn-out of things. "Why didn't I get the chance to say something?"

"Because you've already made up your mind," Sinead reacted, unperturbed by his defensiveness. "You told Ian you'd join him and Jonah, so there."

Hamilton rubbed his palms against his face in an agitatedly brisk manner. "Ugh," he groaned due to his raising aggravation and grogginess. "This so freaking confusing, but all I know is that this so not a good idea."

"So are yours, but apparently we're just of the female kind and we can't say something about it," Amy said flatly before taking her leave as well. Sinead nodded solemnly and followed after her.

"Well," Dan said, finally making his presence known. "That went well."

Hamilton scowled at him. "Not helping, little buddy. Not helping at all."

**oooooOooooo**

**Hm... Have you noticed anything with Ian? *shudders***

**Where, oh, where is this fight going to end up to? Two words: Stay tuned. **

**Haha. I missed this. **

**Oh yeah, muchos gracias to the following awemazing people: **FascinatingRhythm (my awesome co-author in Fabula Secunda), cross, NatalieKFan, booklover1209, TheOtherUsernamesWereTaken, IHeartScience, Daughter of Oceanus, 39cluesgal, StuckInSpace, Happyzen, Authorcooking6 and hikari-oni. 

**Tell me what you think, what you said and what you expect to happen by pressing that li'l button called REVIEW. **

**Thanks y'all!**

**-ASpring. **


	3. The Second Chapter

**Gratitude of massive proportions goes to: **NatalieKFan, rakshie thiru, lovebooks4351, Awesomeperson, anonymous,** and of course, my ever-so patient and amazing co-author **FascinatingRhythm**. You do not have any idea how patient she has been with me. Also, greetings to my friend, Karnejerie who has changed her penname to **Traipeze**. **

**I honestly don't think that this is one of my best chapters, but rest assured all of my seemingly non-important chapters are 'bridges' for the succeeding chapters. :P**

**DISCLAIMER: **

**ME: Today's special guest, Phineas and Ferb!**

**Phineas: Oh, hey there, AngelicSpring!**

**Ferb: That's a pretty odd combination.**

**Candace: PHINEAS!**

**Phineas: Oh, hey there, Candace!**

**Candace: What do you think you're doing?**

**Phines: Doing an interview with AngelicSpring.**

**Candace: Oooh... When Mom comes home, you guys are so BUSTED!**

**Phineas: Hey Ferb! I know what we're going to do today! Huh. Where's Perry?**

**ME: Oh boy.**

**I do not own The 39 Clues, Time Magazine, and whatever it is that clearly doesn't belong to me.**

**START. **

**oooooOooooo**

**Chapter 2**

_Dark. _

_Why is it so dark?_

_Beep._

_Beep._

_Click._

Natalie Kabra quickly regained her sleeping composure as she heard the softest clicking of an opening door and silently thanked all those years she spent with her brother in Lucian training.

Her brother.

_Where is he? Where am I? Where are the others? _

"Her heart rate is going faster, Alex."

Natalie tried her very best to resist the involuntary urge to panic. She breathed inconspicuously deep enough to appear sleeping, managing a peaceful and steady pace.

His companion clucked his tongue in disapproval. "What are you talking about, Victor? Can't you see the poor little girl is asleep?"The voice – Alex, perhaps – sounded sympathetic and somewhat rebuking. Natalie tried not to wrinkle her nose in disgust at being called a poor, little girl. She is nowhere near poor and she is not little either.

"Boo!" a voice boomed directly beside her ear. If she just wasn't lost in thoughts, she would've felt him getting closer and closer to her. If she just wasn't preoccupied, she would've prevented herself from emitting the slightest of flinch.

But, she did flinch.

"Wakey, wakey, Ms. Natalie Kabra," the first voice, Victor, sang out, sounding mildly amused. "You do not want things to get messy, do you?"

Natalie quickly weighed her options. Desperate times call for desperate measures. And _desperate measures,_ most of the time, means 'winging it', as Daniel would most likely put. What should she do? Her secret is out. Besides, she won't be able to gather much information anyway by pretending to be asleep. _That's it._ She opened her eyes, blinked a few times and scanned her surroundings. As soon as she laid her amber orbs at the two people who thought they would be lovely company, she rolled her eyes in disgust.

"What you're wearing is simply... ugh," she complained, pointing at Victor. "Obviously bought cheap." She directed her stare at Alex, ready for her snappy commentary about how he has the most maddening voice in this godforsaken room and how his pitch is all wrong.

She choked on whatever it is she was about to say. Her eyes widened as she stared deep into that familiar shade of amber.

"You're not Ian," she bluntly stated, narrowing her eyes at Alex and keeping the sudden burst of adrenaline in her veins in check. She can't avoid allowing even the slightest ray of panic. All their blasted machineries are still stuck to her.

"No, I'm not. And that is a fact I am proud of."Alexander Ian Vesper-Hollingsworth smirked which made Natalie stiffen. That smirk looks so much like her brother's. Now that she thinks about it, every facet, every angle looks perfectly similar. Except for the hair. From where Ian Kabra has jet-black, this imposter has the oddest shade of brown.

Natalie laughed haughtily. "Of course you are. If I didn't know, you probably are some deranged lunatic with nothing better to do in life and decided it would be peachy if he looked like the Times' magazine youngest heartthrob-slash-bazillionaire –"

"I didn't know you are quite fond of your older brother, Natalie," Alex commented, cutting her off with a peculiar evil glint in his eyes. "Because if you are, then certainly Ian must be quite fond of you, too. And if he is..." His face twisted into a sadistic sneer, implying something other than the truth. "He would have come ages ago to rescue you." He theatrically looked all around them as if searching the room for an expected visitor. "But, I don't see him anywhere, do you? Pity." Alex gave her an innocent look of disappointment.

That made Natalie pause. _How did he know about that? It's like he knows exactly what is on my mind. But, that's preposterous!_ "I'm not... _that_ fond of him! That's what the latest surveys say!" she cried out indignantly. She flipped her hair to the side with an elegant toss of her head. "Anyway, I'm sure he and the others are on their way. Just wait and see, whoever you are, you loathsome fiend. Ian and the others will have your," she glanced at Victor who was too busy eying the proceedings keenly, "and your little friends' ashes."

Alex raised his eyebrows, surprise at her impressive outburst. Then, he succumbed into a hearty laughter. "What makes you think, my dear Natalie, that they would even come save you? I know, deep in that little and twisted heart of yours, you are not quite sure if your brother will come. And now you are expecting your 'relatives' to prepare a rescue operation for you, too?"

Natalie did not respond. She didn't know how to, exactly. She tried to swallow a forming lump in he throat.

"My, my. You are an expectant little girl, aren't you?" Victor observed, twisting his features into an insulting look of pity.

Natalie swallowed audibly. "What is that supposed to mean?" She hesitated to say more, debating whether or not she really needed (much less wanted) to hear what they mean. She has this sinking feeling in her stomach that she knows exactly what they are talking about.

Alex levelled his eyes with hers. "Do you really think people who couldn't even trust you or hated you will seriously find it in their selves to take time for you?"

And there it was. She felt that familiar – and hugely irritating – pang in her chest. That very same pain she felt during those dark times with her mother. Only this time, it seems to be... a little bit more painful. She raised a perfectly arched eyebrow at the two of them. "Don't trust me? Ian _trusts_ me! I mean, probably not with his dia- I meant, _journal_. But with all other things, he trusts me quite well. When it comes to... important agenda, he lets me make decisions. Big ones! The others think I'm the most level-headed of all the younger ones and... and..."

"Oh, right!" Alex slammed his palm on his forehead, playing the part of someone who seemed to forget something utterly important. "My bad. Of course they trust you. That's why Ian _forgot_ to tell you that you are only his 'half-sister'. That's why he _forgot_ to tell you that he has a 'different father'. Oh, that's why he _forgot_ to tell you that he has a 'twin brother'. I see... So that's why." He ended his speech with an understanding nod of his head.

Natalie half-listened to his declarations. But, it was enough to hear the words he particularly emphasized. _Ian's only my half-brother? And what's that supposed to imply? That this... this ogre is related to him than to me? Did Ian know? Did the others know? Why didn't they tell me? _"Wh-What...?"

Alex gasped in surprise, like a naughty child caught in the act of stealing. "Oh! Oh, dear. You didn't know, did you? Oh dear, _oh dear_. What a mess. Oh well. It doesn't matter, does it? I mean, Ian _trusts _you, right?"

Natalie shook her head vigorously, refusing to believe any of it. "He-He must've not known about it! Or-Or you're probably lying! That's it! You liar!" _Who is this, little tactician? He plays his pieces well. Too well. A veteran manipulator_.

Victor yawned loud enough to be noticed. "Just show her the video, Alex, and let's get this over with," he said lazily. "I have a date at nine o'clock..." Seeing Natalie's look of realization at what time it was, he added slyly, "Tomorrow or was it the day after that?" He chuckled conspiringly. "I'm so forgetful."

Natalie rolled her eyes at his pathetic attempt to confuse her. "What video...?"

She squinted against the sudden light from the room.

She very nearly fainted right then and there. Because on the screen, right in front of her, is the Human Chess Game in 2D.

**xxxOOOxxx**

Ever since the Human Chess Game thing (not to mention the recently concluded meeting and the decision made), dinner at the Cahill manor became fairly quiet save for the occasional 'Please pass the...' and 'Could you get me that...'

Tonight is no exception.

"So... how is school for you guys?" Jake said, opening any kind of conversation to ease the awkwardness of the entire situation.

"We don't go to school anymore," Hamilton answered whilst devoid of any emotion before gulping an entire glass of orange juice. He was still making a point of ignoring Sinead and Amy, childish as it may seem. _If they want to take a Cahill thing to a girls-versus-boys thing, then fine._ See if he freaking cares.

Sinead rolled her eyes at his 'heartfelt' desire to improve the situation.

Jake tried again. "So I heard you were hosting a Secret Santa thing, right?" Jake asked Hamilton who was busy shovelling food in his mouth.

Hamilton looked at him weirdly. "That was two months ago."

"Two months..." Jake trailed off, unsure of what to say. He was pretty sure Ian told them Hamilton was _going to _host a Secret Santa. Then again, Hamilton's answer made sense because Christmas was two months ago. _So why did...?_

Jake looked at the impassive face of Ian Kabra. His movement are strangely mechanical as if he was only doing them out of instinct. _Oh, I see._ "Ah..." Jake responded, choosing the awkward silence rather than the awkward conversation.

Evan cleared his throat and nervously adjusted his eyeglasses. "I bet life in this family is still as crazy as ever, huh?" he chuckled, not surprised that nobody had the heart to join him in.

Somebody's fork clattered noisily on the porcelain plate. Eyes snapped up to look at a stoic-faced Ian Kabra. "My hand slipped," he said to nobody in particular. He continued putting food in his mouth like nothing happened.

Dan rolled his eyes. "Like we would buy that," he muttered, low enough for only Atticus, who was beside him, to hear. Atticus just pursed his lips at the oddity of the situation.

Ian acted as if he hadn't heard Dan. Naturally. "To business, however," he continued, as expressionless as before. "I'm quite sure all of you know why I invited the Rosenblooms and... Tolliver..." He trailed off, an unsaid sentence hanging in the air. _Although I clearly don't want to, I just desperately _needed _to. _"I was sure that, as Daniel had commented, nobody would buy my reason of 'more the merrier' –"

His speech was interrupted by the back door opening suddenly and everything went immediately on fast-forward. Hamilton lurched to his feet and darted towards the intruder before Jake could even blink. Ian stood up, his left hand gripping a steak knife tightly. Everybody, except for the dumfounded Rosenblooms and Tolliver, went on extreme battle-defense mode.

"Easy, yo. Just me."

All of them appraised the casual-clothed gangsta in front of them. Designer cotton-white shirt and denim pants, but most especially no bling.

"Jonah!" Keightlyn and Phoenix exclaimed in elation. Phoenix ran up to him and grinned happily. His eyes glittered in excitement at this considerably small surprise. "What wind brought you here?"

Jonah Wizard ruffled his hair half-heartedly. "Just dropping by for a new change of clothes. Won't take long," he said with that all-too-familiar detached tone. He gave Phoenix one, last weary smile and headed to the direction of the dormitories.

Phoenix' face fell slightly. He had hoped, even though he knew it was sadly in vain, that Jonah could stay for the day and forget the Angelle-situation for awhile. It seemed ages ago when the two of them last sat down and played the guitar, wrote some songs and just had fun. Phoenix knows that Jonah blames himself for everything that happened to Angelle. And now that he was thinking of all those things again, he couldn't help but feel selfish.

Hamilton, now straightening from his crouched posture seconds ago, saw how crestfallen Jonah left his cousin. He opened the fridge and took a brown paper bag from it. Keightlyn recognized what it was immediately and was about to say something when Hamilton hollered, "Hey, Wizard!"

It took a few seconds before Jonah's head popped inside the room again. "What?"

"Heads up!" Hamilton chucked the paper bag at his direction. Jonah's reflexes responded and he caught it with ease. He peered inside.

Hamilton rolled his eyes. "Little Miss Blonde and Mr. Wizard here found the energy yesterday to bake something I have no idea what," he told him casually, as if they were just talking about a basketball game. "For you, apparently."

"Lemon meringue cupcake," Jonah murmured, looking at the strange lump of bread and icing inside the bag that was supposedly a cupcake.

Phoenix and Keightlyn fidgeted and played with their fingers uncomfortably. Keightlyn looked up at him shyly and said, "Angelle used to bake them as often as she could with me watching her. I did my best to remember how she makes it but..."

"We could do better," Phoenix said quickly, mistaking Jonah's silence for disgust or discontentment. "Just one more day of practice."

Something unreadable flickered across Jonah's face. "Thanks." He shot them his multi-million dollar smile that usually made anybody feel that everything is going to be just cool. Doesn't change the fact that it was the truest, most broken smile he has ever given since the Human Chess game. And then, he left.

Sinead was giving Hamilton an odd look. "What?" Hamilton demanded, taking his seat. He raised an eyebrow at her.

"What happened to 'I'm Hamilton Holt and I'm not good with feelings and being sensitive'?" she said, calmly sipping her glass of orange juice. She looked at him, her expression one of patience.

Hamilton rolled his eyes at her. "It flew out the window when it grew tired of tolerating the girl who has a nuclear temper."

Ned and Ted Starling stared at the two of them with a look of unhidden disgust. "Disgusting," they chorused, angrily chewing at their steak.

**oooooOooooo**

**You're probably wondering,"Hey. What's with AngelicSpring and her weird disclaimer?" **

**Well, wonder no more! XD You see, I found this notebook filled with disclaimers that I forgot to use with The Start of Train. I want to do them justice. Haha. **

**QUESTION for the DAY:**

**Are you more of a: a) procrastinating person b) 'do what I can today' person c) a little of both**

**Let's see which wins, shall we? Haha. **

**Okay. So how was it? Were there any grammatical errors? Tell me about it by clicking on that li'l button called REVIEW. You know you wanna. **

**Read and Review. **


	4. The Third Chapter

**The following amazing people deserve the biggest hugs I could ever give and here they come *virtual bear hug*: **luverinreadin, NatalieKfan, Iwillcomebacktolife, Amazingly Brilliant, StuckInSpace, emmelinekat **(this chapter is for you, by the way ^.^ please read the end AN)**, Priyalizabeth, BookwormGirl16 **and** Amber Angelina Lilac**. *smiles sheepishly* Thank you very much for reviewing :) Like fo rizzles. (That was me trying to be a gangster... Yeah, not **_**soo**_** good.) **

**DISCLAIMER: I lost my notebook filled with disclaimers and I don't wanna get sued so... o.O No, I really don't own anything about the Cahills.**

**START. **

**oooooOooooo**

**Chapter 3**

Victoria, dubbed by the team as 'Veronica', stared at him, even though she knew that no amount of intent looking would make him look back at her. He was too preoccupied with making blueprints or whatever for his next big, diabolical plan. Seriously, she does not understand why he has to go through all this profligacy. A word here that was used as, 'extravagance to the point of recklessness and wastefulness'. Alex has been exerting more than necessary effort in making the Cahills miserable. Not to mention he's undergoing some sort of solipsism which originally means the way of thinking wherein one's own mind is the only sure thing to subsist. _But in Alex' case, it simply means he's an egotistical idiot who thinks everything he comes up with is foolproof and ours would surely fail one way or the other, _Victoria thought glumly_. _And she probably shouldn't mention how the entire Council feeds this insanity by actually _funding_ it.

Extravagance. Recklessness. Wastefulness.

She cleared her throat.

No response. Which, again, is nowhere near unexpected.

Victoria ran an overwrought hand across her unevenly cut, raven-black hair. She tapped her foot impatiently on the carpeted floor and crossed her arms over her chest. "Hey. Alex," she said in a tone that clearly demands for attention.

After a few more scribbles, Alex sighed exasperatedly. Without looking up from his work, he said, "You knocked on my door and told me you wanted to talk to me about something of utmost importance. That was thirty-two minutes ago." He glanced swiftly at his watch, barely looking at it. "And now, what is it you wanted to say?" He fixed his intense stare at her, using the look that made people want to run away as far as possible.

The forceful magnet his amber eyes had on her had always been able to make her feel... all warm inside. That was before. Sometime long ago. When they were little and things were simpler and most especially, when they weren't an elite group of young people trying to kill a five-hundred-or-so-year-old family out of vengeance and world domination. Those years that seemed so fuzzy and unclear to her these days, like they never even happened. Now those eyes were nothing but cold, golden orbs, taunting her to make a mistake, scrutinizing her every move. In fact, during the human chess game, she noticed how darker his eyes are than those of his brother's. She steadied her gaze, clenching her fists behind her. "Don't you think we're giving the Kabra girl an overdose?" she said slowly, having practiced that line on the way to his room ten times before asking him.

Alex heaved a sigh (one nearing irritation), the way teachers do when they have spent so many times explaining the lesson to her naughty students and nothing gets through them. "No. I don't think so," he replied sadly and quite openly.

Her heavily-lined eyelids fluttered unnervingly with the way things are going. "I think, she's already losing her memories and –"

"That's what you think," he interrupted with a dismissive wave of his hand. "Apparently, that's what I _don't _see."

Her nails dug deeper into her palms. This is so not how she played out the scenario in her head. In her head, she was winning and he was admitting defeat. Yeah, fat chance. "An overdose could be fatal and it could ki -"

"What?" Alex raised an atrocious eyebrow at her, one that does not hear mercy. He looked mildly interested at her statement and interlaced his fingers like a business associate. "It could what?"

Victoria's jaw tightened as she tugged at her red plaid mini skirt. She knew it would be pointless even if she even thought of opening her mouth to respond.

"It could _kill her_?" His voice came in a soft whisper, almost like a hiss, which sent sudden chills on her spine. He used that voice so constantly these days that it was hard to see the Alexander Ian she knew once upon a time. His conniving chuckles pulled her out of her thoughts. "And tell me, my dear... What is so bad in that?"

She swallowed audibly, trying to force her properly phrased words out of her mouth. She felt something going up in her stomach, threatening to come out. Her fingers started shaking that she had to cross her arms across her chest to hide them. She wouldn't give him the satisfaction of seeing his words scare her. "I... I just thought we wanted her alive for the next part," she said it like it was a question and she needed him to agree with her.

Alex chuckled once and gave her a mere flick of his hand, indicating that she should not worry about it. "Dead or alive... The plan would still work." With that, he continued writing as if nothing ever happened, chuckling to himself as if he just said a brilliant joke.

Victoria was willing to try at least one more time, though. She does not want another death on her hands... or on his, for that matter. _Or on anybody's,_ she decided, biting her lip uneasily. "How about some soporific? Those things that could –"

"Make people sleep? Seriously?" Alex scoffed, scowling at her. "No."

"So, you _are_ planning to kill her," she replied mordantly, willing her sarcastic words to hit him hard.

Alex made it a point to appear as if he's wholly busy. "As I've said, either way." Then, he perked up as if an idea just somehow popped into his mind. "You know what's funny though?" he asked with his eyes narrowed, pointing his ballpoint pen at her derisively. He fluidly stood up from his seat, inching his way towards her. "What's funny is how you could complain about my plans when," he paused for dramatic effect, "yours failed _mi-se-ra-bly_." With every syllable of the last word, he edged closer and closer to her, their faces almost touching. "You should thank me. I'm making this a whole lot easier for you. With _my plan_ running perfectly, the Council wouldn't even notice your little... ah, failure."

Victoria shoved him away. Hard. "You are such a jerk, Alex! The machine worked... only not the way we expected it to be."

Alex nodded, understanding. He twirled a lock of her hair in his hands, his fingers always slipping because her hair was too short. "As I've said... Failure," he breathed. "Now all you have to do is do the job I assigned to you without anymore whining and –"

"Dang it, Alex! What happened to you?" she yelled at him, pushing him harder than the last time. Alex stumbled backward with an amused smile. "Okay. So maybe the finished contraption didn't separate Cahill blood as it was supposed to, but what do you expect?"

"Failure," Alex murmured softly.

She ignored him. "Haven't you thought about the fact that maybe there is nothing to separate in the first place?"

Alex had his eyebrows raised the whole time she was speaking. "For argument's sake, let's pretend that I'm interested in what you're saying and that I will ask you to continue speaking." He held out his hand in invitation.

Victoria rolled her eyes. "Look. What if we were wrong about the serum being so powerful that it could be genetically transferred from the receiver to his offspring? What if the serum only affects the person who drank it? What if all along the Cahills of today are what they are because... they 'just are'? Because they are born to be musically-inclined or athletic, or... or smart or –"

"Or people who takes pleasure in killing others and making their lives miserable?" Alex interrupted, pinching the bridge of his nose tiredly.

"N-No, I meant –"

"Do you want to know what's wrong with your speech?" Alex cut her off again, placing his hands on her shoulders. "There are way too many maybe's and what if's. And you want to know what?" His eyes blazed in a frightening mixture of wild fire and molten gold. "That's all they are gonna be! Maybe's and what if's. Because you, my friend, are sadly mistaken."

"And how do you know you're right, Alex?" she challenged, shrugging out of his touch. "Because your Mommy told you?" Alex stepped back as if she just punched him and raised his fist as if he was going to punch her. Instead of backing away, Victoria stood her ground and glared at him defiantly. "Go ahead! Punch me! Is that what _Isabel_ taught you, too?" she said her name like she was talking about Barney.

"You don't know her, okay?" he exploded. "You weren't there when it was just the two of us and those Cahills messed everything up!" He was screaming so loud, you'd think he was holding her responsible for everything that happened. "You think all those Cahills are so big and strong and that they're going to save the world. But they're not. You know why? Because they're cheaters who will get everything what they want at other people's expense!"

"You mean like you?"

Victoria clamped a hand at her mouth, not believing what she just said. Alex looked the exact same way.

"Well," Alex said, turning on his heel and walking back to his working table. "I think we've said enough for today. I think you should be on your way for the next testing." As he sat, he gave her a blank look. "You know, no other stone could break diamond other than itself. I'm just doing likewise."

Victoria wasn't sure if she just imagined the imperceptible pleading note in his voice. Like he was begging her to understand what he was going through. She could only give him one apprehensive nod and left without another word. As she silently closed the huge oak door behind her, she can't help but think of the reasons why she managed to stay in this group for so long. Those reasons outnumbered her before. They seemed so countless, then. But now... What was the point of staying here with this group?

Was there even a _point _to begin with?

Victoria shook the errant thoughts away with a vigorous shudder. She neared the lone room she never wanted to visit again. She placed her thumb on the scanner and waited for the metal door to sneakily open. She slithered inside, willing herself not to make the slightest of sound. The door closed silently.

A huge glass directly in front of her allowed clear vision of the room which extended one floor beneath the room she was in. The spacious room, painted in pristine white, is where they made Natalie Kabra stay. She was currently crouched and unmoving, like a fragile ball on one corner of the room with her long jet-black hair strewn all over her body, covering her up like a dark velvet blanket.

Victoria just stood there, unable to do anything, as another guard came in the room, a syringe filled with transparent fluid in one hand. Natalie remained in her upright fetal position, taking no regard of the unexpected company. Without further adieu, the guard inserted the syringe on the crease of her elbow.

She did not even recoil away from him.

"Miss Victoria."

Victoria started at the sound of the butler's voice so close behind her. How did she not sense him coming? "Yes?" Was she that immersed in the scene playing out in front of her?

The butler bowed formally, emotionless. "You are now needed for the testing."

She closed her eyes and counted till ten, trying to calm her nerves. Before walking out of the room to proceed downstairs where Natalie was, she told the butler, "Tell your boss that... Other things could break diamond and they are not as pretty."

**xxxOOOxxx**

Victoria held up a 12 by 12 inches card which had a picture pasted on it. "Tell me who this is," she said, keeping her voice from being too commanding. The little girl is already trembling as it is. It's sad how she's starting to pity this girl she was told to hate.

Natalie Kabra drew her knees up to her chin, glancing up at the older girl like a caught baby mouse. It was a picture of a young man with hair the color of melted chocolate and eyes with the strangest shade of gold. "My brother."

"Name?"

Natalie recited out of instinct, "Alexander Ian Vesper-Hollingsworth."

"And you are?"

"Natalie Isabella Vesper-Hollingsworth." Natalie refused the sudden demand of her head to throb in pain. She can't help but feel that there is something wrong. Something is horribly out of place, though she can't figure out what. It was literally killing her inside and out.

"Mother?"

"Isabel Vesper-Hollingsworth K-" Natalie gasped, slapping a hand over her mouth. She had let something slipped. She did not know what, but she knew she was going to be punished. What was it she was going to say anyway? After Hollingsworth? Something that started with 'k'.

Victoria produced another card, pretending to be oblivious. If she took note of how Natalie nearly said Kabra which she wasn't supposed to remember, Alex would only suggest that they increase the dosage of that devious solution. "And this?" It was a peculiar picture, something Natalie had always wanted to look at closely. When the testing came the second time, she thought it was a trick question and she immediately answered, "My brother... in disguise." But, apparently it was the wrong answer. More and more painful needles came after that lone mistake.

But, even so, as Natalie looked at the picture of the young man in front of her, she still had the weird feeling that... She knew him. Natalie clutched at her head again. It was painful. "That's..." she gasped, the pain in her head getting more and more unbearable. "That's the deceiving enemy, the one that brother is always talking about." Tears cascaded down her cheeks and she bit her lip to keep more of them from falling. "Ian... Kabra." The salty tears kept on rolling down her cheeks and _the pain just kept on coming and coming and she just wanted all of it to stop... _She shut her eyes so tightly; she began seeing images behind her eyelids. Dark hair, startling gold-like eyes. Blonde hair, reddish hair, green jewel-like eyes. Bulky trio with blue eyes. Natalie began sobbing quietly. "Make it stop," she whimpered pathetically.

Victoria raised an eyebrow. Her face remained stoic as she studied the younger girl's features. She seemed to be struggling to remember something. "That's it for today."

With that, she rose and left the room.

Natalie Kabra – no, that's wrong. Natalie Isabella Vesper-Hollingsworth resumed her fetal position and rocked back and forth, back and forth, wondering what it was she keeps on forgetting.

**xxxOOOxxx**

Hamilton Holt glared – with visible loathing – at the calm and collected facade of Jake Rosenbloom. He has been emanating hate waves since the moment they set foot on the room. "Have I ever mentioned how much I hate this plan?" he asked Ian, clenching his fist dangerously. "'Cause I do. I really do."

Ian barely spared him a glance. In fact, he was trying his best to not look at him and simply pretend he does not exist. And he's doing a good job at it, too. He focused on the stacks of differently colored papers in front of him. "Rosenbloom and Tolliver, you'll be accompanying the girls on their... _supposed_ mission." He looked up at them, his inquisitive and at the moment, scathingly startling amber eyes staring them down. "Correct?"

Evan nodded, pushing his glasses up the bridge of his nose. "It's only fair," he shrugged nonchalantly, as if their decision made perfect sense. Which does not in certain people's opinion.

"I see," Ian replied slowly, considering something. He scrutinized Tolliver for a long moment. "But you know, Tolliver, I seem to remember you have a queer knack for research..."

Evan made a face. "Yeah, so?" he replied warily, not trusting Ian's words. There was always, _always _something behind them. Always.

Ian leaned back on his seat and rested his elbows on the armrests, keeping his expression mildly polite. "So... I think you'll do best if you stay here at the comm. center, if ever Amy and the others need... ah, necessary information." He said all of these things in an unbelievably flat tone, making an impression that he couldn't careless whichever he chooses.

_There it is. _

Evan gave him a look. The Look. "I know what you're doing and it's not going to work."

Jake chuckled conspiringly. "You know, mate," he began, speaking in a much-practiced British accent. "If you're just going to end up as the overprotective not-boyfriend, you shouldn't have started that argument to begin with." He clapped Ian on the shoulder with an understanding nod of his head.

"Right," Hamilton agreed. "So why don't you make Rosenbloom stay here and Tolliver go?"

"Look who's being the overprotective not-boyfriend now," Evan said in a taunting singsong voice.

Hamilton shot Evan a dirty look and was about to tell him that he could just tell his therapist that when he caught Ian frowning at him. "I'm just saying," he conceded, raising his palms in defeat, and went back on his sulking mode.

There was a tentative knock on the door which made all four pause.

"Uh... come in?" Evan called uncertainly, earning a questioning glance at the other three. "What? Knocking is just so unusual in this household," he shrugged.

"Which could only mean that the little Saunders is outside the door," Ian said, glancing out the window.

And true enough, Keightlyn Saunders peered inside the room warily. She pursed her lips thoughtfully before speaking. "Um... Ned asked me to tell you that Ted told him that Phoenix mentioned something that Dan told him which Reagan overheard from Madison which she –"

"You mean Sinead wants us to know that...?" Hamilton prodded, knowing the drill.

Keightlyn shifted her weight awkwardly. "Well, actually... It's Amy this time."

All four boys rolled their eyes.

"She wants you to know that... Well, lunch is ready and..." Her face twisted into an uncomfortable expression. She bit on her lip and played with her fingers. "That's all," she finally said hesitantly.

"I don't think that's all," Jake whispered theatrically to Evan.

"I think so, too," Evan stage-whispered back.

Keightlyn shyly glanced up at all of them from under her thick eyelashes. "Well, it's just that... I don't think you'll like what I'm about to say," she muttered.

"If it's from either one of those girls," Ian started, mildly exasperated, "rest assured, we wouldn't like it any other way."

"Could I just quote what she said?" the little girl asked in an almost whining tone.

Jake sighed, followed by Hamilton's getting-annoyed grunt. "Go on," Jake said kindly, shooting Hamilton a warning glare. The latter merely stuck his tongue out at him like the perfectly capable adult he was.

"She said, 'You think you're so smart,'" she paused, checking their reactions first; they remained politely interested. "'But you forgot to turn the cameras in that room off, Einsteins.'"

Keightlyn Saunders immediately shut door, but not quickly enough to escape the muttered curses and scrambling around while hissing at where those blasted cameras are.

**oooooOooooo**

**Okay, so... *deep breath* I know that you hear it from me so many times that it probably is sounding like I don't mean it, but I do. I feel really, really guilty right now because I actually thought of like putting this story on... on... *whispers* ON HIATUS. Then, emmelinekat sent me a PM that drowned me in shame. I mean, she said such nice things and whoever those friends of hers are, I thank you, too. From the bottom of my hypothalamus. She said super nice things (that I don't think I deserve in the least) that I deleted the doc that contained my huge apology about putting this story on hiatus and typed three chapters. I'm so SORRY. TT^TT I'm so SORRY. TT^TT - That's me sniffling. **

**But rest assured, the story is on its way and I'm not gonna beat around the bush anymore. You'll know what I mean. ,o - That's a wink, I think. Ha. It will be fast-paced? If everything goes well, I should be able to update next week. **

**With regards to Fabula Secunda, I need to have the stuff I made checked by my co-author first :) **

**Thank you all for being very patient with me. If I could, I would hug all of you warmly and thank you one by one. Seriously. I would. :)**

**I missed this and missed you guys so much. I hope you forgive me.**

**Question of the Day:**

**On a scale of 1 to infinity, how mad are you with AngelicSpring? How disappointed are you with her? What do you think about the Ham-Sinead-Jake triangle? **

**Read and Review? **

**"Because writers have various ways of writing, a variety of things can cause a writer to experience anxiety, and sometimes this anxiety leads to writer's block." - The Purdue Online Writing Lab**


	5. The Fourth Chapter

**So here it is... A new chapter of The Start of Train as promised. Haha. Actually, not everything went according to plan. I was reviewing the past few days before I last uploaded for an examination that would determine the subjects I could take this September for the Sixth Form or something or A-levels. I don't really get how that works. I'm just reviewing my butt off on Chemistry, Biology and Maths without any understanding whatever. Haha. So I was reviewing – or revising, whichever – on the Unit 1 of Bio and Chem, and I finished. So there I was, triumphantly going to start on my Maths when the practice papers were given to me and boom! I was supposed to review the Unit 2 on all the subjects given to me. And now I have approximately three weeks till my exam date. Wish me luck, guys! I need it. XD**

**** Awesome Review-givers [**Iwillcomebacktolife** :: **anon** :: **emmelinekat** :: **Anonymous Person** :: **fantasybooklover** :: **NatalieKfan **:: **irishpixie823**] My sincerest thanks and warmest hugs go to you, guys! XD**

**Also, shout-out to: **anon**! I'm not sure if you're the same one who has been reviewing The Start of Train, but I'm taking my chances. I was re-reading the reviews I got and I kept on seeing your username. And the reviews you sent are no small matter, either. They were CCs and compliments and stuff. So, kudos to you, my non-FF friend! XD**

**To those who have been with me since the very start, I couldn't thank you guys enough. Yes, you. Review or not, your support does not go unnoticed. **

**DISCLAIMER: Nope. Nuh-uh. **_**Yadda**_**. I also don't own Google nor Wikipedia.**

**Please start.**

**oooooOooooo**

**Chapter 4**

'Victor' – born as Jonathan, only a minute before his twin sister, Victoria – glared at the half-full luggage on the floor. "What the heck are you doing now?" he demanded, kicking the bag harshly with one foot. It was five minutes till midnight and he was in no mood to deal with his drama-case of a sister. He looked at the many decapitated security cameras and listening devices that her dear, darling sister scoured in her room, now lying pitifully on her bed. Well, of course. Before packing all your stuff for a suicidal mission, kill all the security cam first.

They had at least ten minutes – tops – to talk before the guards get suspicious.

"Whatever it is, it's none of your business," Victoria replied, cramming another set of shirts on top of carefully disguised weapons. She blew out a stray strand of unevenly-cropped, midnight-black hair in exasperation. She hastily tied her locks in a messy bun on top of her head before cramming an odd-looking, antique jewelry box into her navy blue luggage.

"I'm your older brother which makes everything you do my business," Jonathan reminded her, as his eyes followed his little sister's wandering about in the room. He crossed his arms over his chest authoritatively, willing Victoria to trip with his eyes.

Victoria glared incredulously at him. "That's not what you said when I asked for a ride the other day," she replied, using the same tone as his. Jonathan merely frowned at her, clearly unimpressed with her comeback. Victoria heaved a heavy sigh of edginess, avoiding his brother's eyes. "Look, Nate. It's complicated, okay? I just –"

"Does this have something to do with your unrequited love for Alex?" Jonathan interrupted, narrowing his eyes to slits. Because if it was, he will march over to that dunghole's room and give him a piece of his mind just to end this whole fiasco. "Did he turn you down or something?"

Victoria balled her hands into fists, keeping them close to her waist to keep any of them from making contact with Jonathan's jaw. Snippets of her conversation with that... that _guy_ flashed into her overactive mind. She immediately shot her brother a withering look. "What did I ever do that made me your sister, much less your twin?" she asked sadly, keeping her breathing in shallow, even spaces. She kneeled down beside her luggage, brashly zipping the entire thing. She only managed to zip it half of the way before it got stuck.

Jonathan made a face at her rebuttal and then, quickly wiped it off. "What happened, Vic?" he asked, sounding serious all of a sudden. Because he knows, something has happened. She's acting weird. Weirder than usual, at least. Although, the jewelry box pretty much said it all. That one box that started everything and led his deranged little sister to actually think of _this_ plan for the last few days.

The stupid zipper wouldn't budge and that was not helping her mood at all. She quickly muttered a string of profanities. "I just want to go home, Nate. Have to get out of here, even just for a –"

"There's no home to go back to, Vic," Jonathan replied, irritated (that she clearly takes him for an idiot if she's expecting him to swallow that) and guarded (because she never wanted to go back to their hometown) at the same time. "I wouldn't call a crumbling orphanage a home, much less a house," he continued, using the exact same line she used to say to him when he asks her if she remembers a particular incident that happened in the orphanage.

She gave the zipper another helpless tug, sensing that Jonathan knows more than what he lets on. "You know what I mean," she said, not bothering to look back at her brother. "I just need answers."

"And bibbity-bobiddy-boo," Jonathan continued sarcastically with a dramatic roll of his eyes. "Let me call Sherlock Holmes for you. I believe he's still on my speed dial."He leaned on the doorframe and studied her closely, his lips pursed in thought. He can't pretend to know what Victoria is about to do, but he can guess. This isn't the first time that she was about to do something stupid and he tried to stop her. There were countless of times and not once did she listen to him. He knows that this time, she wouldn't, either. The contents of the jewelry box are pictures of their childhood. Her, him... and Alex. "This is suicidal," he stated, simply pointing out a fact that she should know. "Once the Council finds out, they won't be so kind with the consequences."

"They won't be able to catch me," she said matter-of-factly, giving the bloody zipper two more pulls before letting it go. "I'll make sure they won't." She said it with much conviction that it was a bit hard not to believe her.

But, her twin was no idiot. Her brother's eyes widened at the revelation. "So, you're not going back?" he asked in amazement.

Victoria let out a hard chuckle. "There's no going back once you leave, now is there?" she said scornfully, giving him a roll of her eyes.

Jonathan held up a hand as if to pause everything because it was happening way too fast. "So, you're planning to get killed, either by the hands of the Council or under the Cahills?" he snapped, sneaking a quick look on the empty corridor. "This is stupid, Vic. Even for you. This is something even _I_ wouldn't do."

Victoria righted her luggage, her right hand gripping the handle. "Let's just let the chips fall where they may, 'kay?" She gave him a reassuring grin, no trace of fear or anxiety in her face. There was only burning determination and scorching purpose in her eyes as she looked at her brother.

Jonathan grabbed her arm, spinning her around when she held the doorknob and tentatively opened the door. "Give me one good reason why I shouldn't tie you up and lock you in your closet," he said in a low voice, his face completely wiped off any expression. He looked neither angry nor joking; he was just looking at her, emotionless.

"Because you believe in what I'm about to do, Jonathan Mitrofanov," she answered in Russian, returning the calm look her brother was giving her. "I know you do."

They looked at each other for a long time, seeing the cruel past that brought them here. Jonathan released her arm slowly. "Try not to get yourself killed. St. Petersburg is too far if you ever called for my help," he told her (responding in Russian), seeing the little four-year-old girl that fell down the swing so many times he stopped counting when the injuries reached ten. The little six-year-old girl who cried in the plaza during a field trip when a passing couple ignored her and she thought they were their Mommy and Daddy, leaving them again. The little girl who –

Victoria grinned. "_Da_," she said flippantly with a dismissive wave of her hand and a cocky toss of her head. "Might as well bring you something if I see you again."

Jonathan pretended not to hear her saying _if_. "_When_ that happens, makes sure it's a sports car. Or else I'll disown you." He wavered before returning her nonchalant grin. This could be the last time he sees her and the last thing they talk about is getting him a present. He can't believe that he's actually letting her do this.

Victoria rolled her eyes good-naturedly. "Whatever." She opened the door, checked the corridor and walked away.

"Watching your back, sis," Jonathan quietly called out to her retreating figure, still speaking in Russian. It's the least he could do. He would never have the guts to do what his sister is doing. Or at least, what he thinks his baby sister will be doing.

Almost imperceptibly, the raven-haired girl nodded in appreciation.

**xxxOOOxxx**

"Formed long ago, yet made today, employed while others sleep. What few would like to give away nor any wish to keep," Sinead murmured sleepily, her eyes drooping for the nth time. She briskly rubbed her face with her palms, a mannerism she got from that burly teenager in the next room. It was still early, but staring at the screen for a long time really does have its advantages. "What does this mean? It's too long for an anagram, too short for deciphering using his codes, just perfect for a riddle." She glared at the laptop in front of her.

"What'cha doin'?" Dan said, popping suddenly from behind her. Sinead jumped a whole couple of centimetres off her seat. She could practically feel every inch of her body pumping with adrenaline. Her heart thundered painfully against her chest.

"Dan..." she said slowly, closing her eyes and not daring to turn around to look at him. She held on to the arms of her chair with the deadliest grip she could muster. She tried to make her breathing a little bit more even.

"Yeah?"

"You know how Amy's your sister, and how she's my best friend?"

"Uh-huh..."

Sinead opened her sharp, green eyes and glowered at him with the best impersonation of a serial killer. She turned her chair around so that she's facing him entirely. "How do you think will she feel if she found out I buried her baby brother deep in the Himalayas?" she asked through gritted teeth.

Jade-green eyes widened. Dan took a step back and pretended to think about it. "Not a good idea," he informed her, offering her a sympathetic face. He pulled in a sharp breath. "Ya know, I think you're spending too much time with Ham, and you're getting all," Dan made a cuckoo sign near his head, twirling his finger and pointing it at her. "And brutal. Crazy and brutal."

Sinead frowned at him.

Dan waved a hand dismissively. "Fine, fine. Before you start defending your 'knight' or whatever it is you call him now," he gagged and deliberately made a show of making disgusted faces.

"How 'bout immature, stupid, spineless, coward..." Sinead paused and placed a thoughtful finger on the side of her chin, "or suicidal. I think I'm going for suicidal today."

Dan sat down on the bean bag located conveniently on the corner of the room. "Between the two of us, I think my sister is a bad influence on you," he confided, shooting her an understanding look. He sighed heavily. "I mean, you of all people! I'd expect this from Natalie, but for Sinead Starling to fa-"

"I'm going to punch you if you continue that sentence," Sinead cut him off harshly, ignoring the sudden blush on her cheeks. She chucked a flash drive at him which Dan smoothly caught while laughing his head off. "Why don't you go back to whatever cave you came from, Dan? Just anywhere miles away from me?"

"Nah. I think I'll stay," he stated, earning a heartfelt groan from the auburn-haired girl. "So what'cha doin'?" He craned his neck to peek at the screen even though he knew it was futile since he was a couple of feet away.

"Well, for starters, ignoring you," Sinead said, turning her back to him and setting her mind to what she needs to do.

"You're not doing a pretty good job at it," Dan mocked in a sing-song voice.

Sinead gritted her teeth, pressing her fingers against her temples.

"Why don't you Google it?"

Sinead turned sharply at him, her eyes narrowed to slits. "Why don't I _what_?" she asked acerbically as if she was daring him to say it again.

Dan, being the tactful person he is, repeated what he just said. "I said, why don't you Google it? Ya know, Google? Wikipedia?"

Sinead scoffed and crossed her arms across her chest haughtily. "I don't need any search engine to know an answer, Daniel Arthur Cahill. I _think_. Only someone like you would do that," she declared, frowning at him.

"Yeah. 'Cause I want things the easy way," Dan said sarcastically. He looked at her weirdly. "What's so bad with that? Look," he pushed her away from the laptop and copied the sentence Sinead has been working on for the past thirty-or-so minutes. He pasted it on the search engine and with a smug look in Sinead's direction, he pressed Enter.

About 81 million results came and Dan randomly clicked on the second one. He read the contents silently, skimmed through the whole page and laughed.

Sinead grew curious despite the fact that she's fuming mad and she desperately wanted to get her hands around Dan's neck. "What?" she asked, peering on the screen.

"S-So... si-simple," Dan spluttered in between guffaws. He used the cursor to point out the answer, his hand shaking from his laughter.

Sinead's eyes widened and by a miracle, she felt the need to do it for the first time.

She slammed her face on the desk.

**oooooOooooo**

**I am now having a strange fondness for SineadXDan friendship. Haha. **

**Things are starting to unfold now; even more so in the next chapters. So stay tuned!**

**Watching football right now: ENG v SWE and I kept on getting distracted by the entire thing that I can't finish typing. SWE just scored. Oooh... Reminds me so much of Quidditch. Haha. Gah! See, distracted. **

**I should just end this. Okay, to wrap things up!**

**QUESTION of the DAY: **

**To those people who have been reading The Start of Train and are now reading The Start of Pain, please say 'aye'. Send me a PM or a Review or whatever you want. Or a tweet! Yeah! Just search AngelicSpring and stuff, stuff. 'Kay? And what do you think about this whole thing so far? Am I starting to bore you guys? **

**SWE just scored again. 2 – 1. I wonder who would win? Shout-out to those in Sweden and England! Good luck! **

**Less than three, **

**AngelicSpring. **

**I'm loving football – soccer, whichever. XD**


	6. The Fifth Chapter

**Who has a new chapter of The Start of Pain and is in a good mood? **

**AngelicSpring, that's who! **

**... *cricket-y sounds***

**Yep, nobody cares. **

**I shall now thank my awesome reviewers! *punches the air dramatically with matching glittery and shining eyes* Great thanks to – **NatalieKfan, Daughter of Oceanus, addicted2reading9, Reginaa2111, dear Guest and StuckInSpace**! Thank you so much! Here, please have this virtual cookie basket XD Also, thanks for those who wished me luck and prayed that I may pass the exams I took. I passed! **_**Yatta**_**! Let's celebrate with a virtual party! **

**DISCLAIMER: Nuh-uh. **

**Please move down inside the story and enjoy. 'Cause I'm feeling bus driver-y. **

**oooooOooooo**

**Chapter 5**

"Well, I don't know how else to say this, but... Bye." Sinead gave all of them the most fake smile she's ever given anybody in her entire life. Amy smiled nervously, meeting nobody's eyes and finding a certain part of the ceiling interesting.

Ian sighed, pinching the bridge of his nose tiredly as he looked at Amy wearily, almost imploringly. Hamilton rolled his cool blue eyes at Sinead. Jonah, with his casual, designer clothes, is wearing this expression like he doesn't know what's happening in the world. His eyes dart back and forth from Sinead to Hamilton then to Amy then at Ian.

"Uh... Are you guys fighting or something?" Jonah asked cautiously, knowing that if he so much as presses the wrong button, the whole mansion would implode. His hand gripped the handle of his black pack in case he needed to fend off a flying dart or a kick or all of the above.

Jake made a face at him. "Wow, they are right. You are amazingly _tactful_," he drawled exasperatedly, pushing his brown hair away from his eyes. He pulled the sleeves of his layered t-shirt up to his elbows and clapped his hands. "Do you need help putting your stuff in the van?" he asked politely, looking at the three boys with a wide grin plastered on his face.

"Yeah, 'cause he's so much better at tact than I am," Jonah muttered angrily, heaving his bulging backpack up, and headed towards the Cahill basement. He was shaking his head as he went.

Hamilton glowered at him with as much hate as he could shove up his glinting, icy blue eyes. He is feeling deep, boiling hatred for this boy right now that it wouldn't be prudent for him and this skunk to be in the same room much less the same house for the next couple of years. That is if he doesn't want to go to hiding. Which isn't a problem, really. He caught Sinead's look of disappointment directed right at him. He growled before saying, "No, _I_ don't _think I_ need your _help_."He put emphasis on the weirdest of places. He trudged after Jonah, grumbling about people with no life and nothing better to do and blaming and stupid sons.

Jake stared at his wake disbelievingly. He nodded slowly before turning to Ian and looking at him expectantly. "So...?"

"No," Ian said bluntly with the air of his usual superiority, walking out after his two group mates after smoothing out his black and grey argyle sweater which he wore over his white polo. Sinead, Amy, Jake and Evan, who felt contented in simply watching them and not pointing out his existence, heard the echoes of their footsteps.

Amy shot him an apologetic look, tucking her reddish-brown hair behind her ear. "Jake, I'm so –"

Jake held up a hand to stop her. "No, don't worry about it. I know they hate my guts anyway," he said coolly, as though that's the most obvious - much less _okay_ - thing in the world.

"Mine, too," Evan piped in, his glasses sliding down his nose. "I don't have any idea what I did, though," he continued innocently. Jake nodded in agreement.

"Nobody ever knows what's wrong with them," Sinead said half-consoling, half-annoyed. She felt her blood pressure rise dangerously just by being in the same room as that stupid, suicidal idiot. "We just pretend we don't notice and continue with our lives the way normal people do."

Amy bit her lip as she eyed all of their faces. "Ye-Yeah. That's what we do," she whispered.

Begrudgingly, they followed after the Three Muske-dorks.

**xxxOOOxxx**

"Holt."

"Yeah?"

"Just shut up. Please. By gods, just shut up for one minute."

"..."

"..."

"All I'm saying is... Of all inconspicuous vans, a garbage truck? Really?"

"Yo, dawg! Can't you just pretend it's not like that? We'll be in a private jet in a, like, jet."

"What is that even supposed to mean, Wizard?"

"Ha. You see, it's a pun because –"

"We'll be riding a jet and we'll be there in a jet. Yeah, we get it!"

"I-dawg doesn't."

"He doesn't get a lot of things."

"Oh really, Holt? Pray tell, what else is it that I don't get aside from your... _educational_ language?"

"Well, there's Amy who tops the list."

"I don't see you doing very well with Starling either."

"Ya know, for a couple of 'heartthrobs', you two are... I don't know, stupid?"

"..."

"..."

"I mean, what happened to our GM lessons? You, Hamilton? Really? I thought we were supposed to help Ian here, and now..."

"Wizard?"

"Yo?"

"If you don't stop talking this instant, I will – and mark my words – leave your sedated being here in this truck and leave it to destiny if somebody finds you."

Dan sighed from the inside of the truck. _These people are hopeless_, he thought with a shudder. _Good thing I came with them._ He grinned evilly to himself, completely ignoring the fact that he's cramped inside a truckful of weapons and poisons.

His phone vibrated against his jeans pocket. He flipped it open and glared at the message. It was that person again.

"No need for the reminder, buddy," Dan mumbled as he put the phone back in his pocket, finishing the message with a shudder. "I know exactly where we're going." Dan leaned his head against the bulletproof metal of the truck and hugged his backpack closer to his chest.

After a good hour of silence, the truck stopped with a lurch and several groans from the front of the truck. The jet is waiting for them.

**xxxOOOxxx**

Amy is panicking. Her long, reddish-brown hair is flying to a hundred different places, her phone pressed against her ear. She was biting her nails again and she didn't give a cookie to whoever the freak is looking.

"Atticus," she said with a voice higher than normal, "what do you mean you don't know where Dan is?"

Atticus sank lower in his seat as he avoided the disapproving look his brother is giving him. "I... I really don't know where he is," he lied poorly, beads of sweat forming on his forehead. His shaking hands pushed his glasses up the bridge of his nose. Jake's features changed to that of exasperation.

"You don't think he came with them, do you?" Amy shrieked at Sinead who flinched away from Amy's metallic panicking. Evan looked up from the computer screen of the comm. center. "Ames, Ian stayed true to his words. He kept them safely untracked. Even our computers can't find and reach them. I don't think we can ask them..." he trailed off, seeing tears forming on Amy's eyes.

Sinead placed her hands on Amy's shoulders. "Look, Amy. Don't worry. I'm sure Ian will look after him if Dan did come with them... which I'm sure is the situation," she looked pointedly at Atticus as she said that. Atticus gulped nervously.

"Ian would slit his throat out," Amy cried out hopelessly, dropping the phone on the floor as she herself dropped on a chair. Sinead winced at that and hesitated before she continued. She cleared her throat and chuckled uncertainly. "Maybe... But Hamilton would stop Ian. I'm sure of it," she bit her tongue at the completely hypocritical comment she just made. "Jonah's there, too. C'mon, there're three of them there."

Amy groaned as she smothered her face in her palms. "That's what I'm afraid of," she moaned, the edge on her tone indicating that she is nearing hysteria.

Atticus chewed on his lip and looked pleadingly at his brother. Jake raised an eyebrow at him. "Okay, maybe he did come with them!" he blurted out, immediately sinking lower and lower to his seat as everybody looked at him. His cheeks flushed as Amy let out another groan.

"Why didn't you tell anybody?" Jake asked impatiently.

"Because!" Atticus complained. "Because Dan said... that he needs to go! And he feels really guilty about everything!" His too-thick glasses fogged up as he began tearing up. "He feels really guilty," he insisted with a small voice.

Amy sighed, closing her eyes. "He thinks it's his fault. About Natalie," she mumbled, the truth finally hitting her now.

Atticus nodded sullenly, rubbing his eyes with his fists furiously.

"Well," Sinead huffed a breath out. Frankly, she didn't think that kid was capable of feeling that way, but... Then again, there's Hamilton so... "That's that. I'm sure the guys would understand... Or something. Probably." It was common knowledge that Ian Kabra isn't the most understanding person in the world.

Amy did not respond. Evan looked like he wanted to comfort his ex (long story, but we'll be getting to that) but was too afraid that a certain British persona would come and shoot him dead. He was informed before that said British persona was only too willing to let the police do the job for him in one particular instance. Jake paced around the room, his clenched fist placed under his chin in thought.

"I have a lead on our mission, if anyone wants to hear it..." Sinead coaxed, hoping Amy would stop worrying and trust in Dan's training.

A couple of minutes of silence passed and Amy finally stood up. "Right. We should talk about our mission," she said, her voice ringing finality. _I can't afford to look and feel weak right now_, she thought feverishly at herself. "When Dan comes back, I swear to Olivia, he's going to get his sorry butt grounded till he's an adult," she said out loud, already forming the situation in her head.

"That's my girl," Sinead agreed with a huge beam, slapping Amy on the back. "First off, we need a map on that hospital where Uncle Alistair was last seen. Then, everything gets easier from there."

**oooooOooooo**

**Oh, Dan. What would we do without you? And who in the name of disappearing ninjas is MOLLY? Who does she think she is? Taking our Dan-sama to the middle school formal or whatever that is. **

**If you didn't understand that little ranting up there, do read the latest message sent in by our beloved Ian Kabra in the 39 Clues Message Board. Maybe, I'm being very unfair with this Molly person and obviously she's just one of the many girls who have seen the extreme awesomeness of Daniel Arthur Cahill. But still, I wuv Natan. Long live Natan! I don't care what Ian saw in the mail! Long live the Natalie and Dan pairing! Long li - *AngelicSpring took a poisoned dart gun to the neck and falls to the ground***

**Ian Kabra walks inside the room and plucks the cue cards on Angel's hands, not sparing the twitching girl on the floor a glance. "Okay let's see what we have here," he says. "She doesn't know when she'll update next, blah, blah. So irresponsible. She is craving for double chocolate banana muff- Who in their right minds would care?" Ian sighs, rolling his eyes at the pathetic-ness of the message this 'author' has to offer. "No wonder you haven't got that much friends," he says at the deeply breathing, safely sleeping (or is she) fanfiction writer. His eyes catch a small message on her hand. "Please Review, my loving and amazing readers...?" he reads out. He looks at the camera in front. "She has readers?" **

**Ian is being vewy mean. I'm telling Amy-onee-san. She's gonna punish him and make him wash the dishes. **

**Love, **

**AngelicSpring's pet baby panda (She's still out cold) **


	7. The Sixth Chapter

**What's this? AngelicSpring updated? *looks out the window* Is there a full moon out tonight? **

**...**

**Oh wait. There's no moon yet. **

**Anyhoo, stupid intro aside, yes, it's me Angel. Why I updated early is beyond me, but... Maybe it's because there's this chapter I made (not this one, sadly) that I'm really looking forward to. Haha. So excited. XD **

**To thank our awesome, ever-so-loyal reviewers: **emmelinekat, NatalieKfan, Reginaa2111, addicted2reading9 and I_Luv_Hamilton_Holt **(how's it going? I'm so glad you're still following this story! Thank you so much!) ! Thank you so much, amazing people! Much Love, Peace Out to y'all! Hugsies and Kisses! **

**Moving on -**

**Ian stomps in, glaring at me. "What in the name of pigeons is the matter with your brain?" he exploded, his hands clenched into fists. He oddly smells like lemon-scented dishwashing soap. **

**I chuckle mischievously. "Shall we begin with story and ignore meanie Ian here?"**

**DISCLAIMER: **

**I don't own anything aside from the plot bunnies. **

**Start -**

"**Don't you dare ignore -"**

**With the story. Enjoy!**

**oooooOooooo**

**Chapter 6**

Jonathan leaned against the pool table, twirling the cue stick along his wrist. He looked impassively at Alex who was taking a long drink from his root beer. Droplets of condensation fell on his denim pants. "Are we playing or not?" he inquired edgily, glancing swiftly at his watch. "Unlike you, I'm awfully busy and –"

"It has come to my knowledge," Alex interrupted smoothly, standing up from the black recliner and taking a cue stick for himself. He seemed unfazed with other guy's intolerance. "That our dear Victoria has been missing in the premises for quite a while now..." He gave the older boy a meaningful look.

Which Jonathan returned with expressionless eyes. "So?" he retorted, looking closely at Alex as he arranged the billiard balls and deftly placed the white cue ball in the middle. "Am I supposed to know where the heck she is every second of the day?" _Dang, too much words_, he thought, suddenly alarmed though his features revealed nothing. _He could see so much in that._ He cursed himself silently and promised to be more casual.

Alex made a face of agreement with the boy's incredulity and gestured for him to make the break-shot. "No, no. That's not what I meant," he amended, smiling thinly with his amber eyes glinting threateningly. "I just hope you know better than to feed and encourage her somewhat insane actions."

Jonathan remained outwardly impassive and waved a dismissive hand, positioning himself and the cue stick. "I think you do that part better than I do," he admitted with a hint of sarcasm. He gave the stick one quick and expert thrust, sending sixteen pool balls rolling in different directions. He watched as three of the balls _swooshed_ inside different holes. "Isn't that what the two of you do best? Support one another to the point of absolute stupidity?" Jonathan raised an eyebrow at him.

Alex laughed good-naturedly at the statement. "I suppose so," he replied, still chuckling. He eyed the table keenly and went on the left side of the table where the cue ball lay a good few inches away from the edge. He gave the stick a few trying pushes. The stick made a clicking sound as it made contact with the cue ball. "Let's just hope that she isn't taking some matters in her own hands."One more ball went in, only managing to budge the 8 ball as it rolled. He walked towards his mug of root beer and took a long sip.

Jonathan eyed him wordlessly. He quickly took his turn, only grazing the coveted black ball with one of the two balls he managed to send in the holes.

"The Council wouldn't like that very much," Alex continued as he took his turn, sending one green ball to its end. "Neither would I." He levelled a blazing, significant, golden look at him.

Jonathan swallowed as he hit the cue ball effortlessly, finally ending the game as the 8 ball fell into the black hole. "Point taken," he said, putting the pool stick down on the table. As he exited the room, Jonathan paused. "I don't need you letting me win next time, kid," he said, sounding annoyed, without turning to look at him. "Longest game we've had."

Alex chuckled at his ill-tempered departure. "Longest game you'll ever have," he murmured ominously with a smile to match, gulping down the rest of his root beer.

**xxxOOOxxx**

Ian Kabra leaned back on one of the seats of the newly-crafted MS 760 jet, his laptop wide awake in front of him. He rested his head on his hands, not daring to open his eyes to check if something was wrong. Because everything _is_ wrong. The Wi-Fi is horrible – can't even open Yahoo without getting a 'Unable to connect to the Internet' memo every five minutes or so. If that's not bad enough, a single page takes about ten minutes to load. Their basement had better reception than this! Hamilton and Jonah are on the controls, probably on the verge of sending this whole thing spiralling towards the earth, managing to set the whole thing on fire first while they plummet.

And Daniel.

It always has to be Daniel. The primary source of his headaches.

Ian, after running his fingers through his jet-black hair for the nth time, rubbed the back of his neck with a sigh. "Daniel," Ian started with his eyes still closed. _Just count to ten, Kabra_, he thought, taking a slow breath through his nose. _And whatever you do, just don't strangle the kid._ "What went in that head of yours –"

Dan grunted in annoyance. "Oh, why don't you just get over it, Cobra?" he griped grumpily. Ian made him sit on a corner with about ten seatbelts strapped on him and he was told not to talk for a whole hour. Of course, he was grumpy... and hungry. "Do you have any chips?"

Ian observed him for a long second, pretending that while he's speaking, Dan has his mouth shut with layers of duct tape. "Do you know what Amy is willing to do to me if she finds out you sneaked in and joined us?" he asked him steadily.

Dan pretended to look excited. "Is she gonna ban you from the house?" he suggested eagerly. "'Cause I'd like that. I really would." He nodded his head vigorously, showing Ian that he likes that idea very much.

Ian rolled his eyes. "She would incapacitate me," he said plainly.

"Yeah... I don't see how that's a bad idea," Dan replied. His jade-green eyes glared out the jet's mini circular window.

"Not if I incapacitate you first," Ian growled, his fingers inching towards the laptop and getting ready to chuck it at his head.

Hamilton peered inside the room from the cockpit. "Is everything going okay there?" he asked, and then he laughed at the question. "Who was I kidding? Of course not!" He continued laughing at his own wit.

"Just fly the stupid jet, Holt, and concentrate on not crashing all of us to our deaths," Ian waved him off. Hamilton made a face at Dan like 'Can you believe this guy?' as he raised his arms in defeat and sat back down. Jonah chuckled from somewhere there in front.

"Ham and Jonah don't seem to mind," Dan pointed out. He looked at all the restraints on him. "Besides, it's not like I'll mess things up. Just look at me as... Boots and you guys are like Dora."

_He said what now? _

Ian stared at him with his jaw slightly open. Hamilton and Jonah flipped the Auto-pilot button up to look at the kid with the same disbelieving face Ian has. Their expressions were priceless and surely, a sight that majority if the Cahills would pay to see.

Dan, being Dan who usually lets things which he thinks are useless fly over his head, looked back at them confusedly. "What?"

"You still watch that? Dude!" Jonah complained, throwing a balled up paper aimed precisely at Dan's head. "What're you like, five?"

Hamilton sniggered after getting over his short moment of absolute shock. "Can Dora hear what your favourite part was?" he asked mockingly in between laughs.

Jonah joined in, not missing out on any chance of embarrassing Dan. "Does she ask you where you're goin' next?" he laughed insultingly harder than Hamilton.

He and Jonah high-fived at that, yelling loudly at their witty comebacks.

Dan shot them a dirty look. "Yeah. 'Cause Thomas and Friends are for 18 and up," he retorted. He looked at Ian like, _Can you believe them?_

Ian wasn't looking at him. He was busy slamming the back of his head on his cushion of his seat, all the while muttering unintelligibly about how he hates his life. He also considered a face-desk moment only he really does not need a concussion.

He also dared not point out that if Jonah and Hamilton were so mature, how come they knew that programme so well?

That would only cause too much trouble than he could handle for one day.

**xxxOOOxxx**

Warm, afternoon sunlight filtered through the slightly agape windows, illuminating the different antique trinkets scattered around the room. A music box with gold trimmings, a ballerina figurine in mid-twirl, a couple of Precious Moments dolls, a collection of angel figurines based on birth months and many other. This old store had been standing in this very spot since 1860 and the grandson of the founder is now looking after it.

"I was wondering if you knew a woman who owned this locket," Victoria told the old man seated on a rocking chair. She held out an antique, gold locket with engravings of intricate vines. She pressed a button on the side and it sprang open. The old man gave her a sideways glance and his old, wise eyes glittered as his shaky hands pointed at the locket.

"Funny girl... with... little blonde... kid..." he wheezed in Russian wistfully. His thirteen-year-old great-grand-daughter came inside the room with a tray of snacks and tea. Her blonde hair is braided into two pigtails and she smiled apologetically at the raven-haired girl. "I'm sorry about my grandfather," she said in a quiet voice, also speaking in Russian. "He is very old. He forgets."

The old man seemed to understand that and shook his head quickly. "No, no, no, no. Young girl with little blond kid," he blubbered, nearly incomprehensible. Victoria gave him a wry smile. "No, sir. I'm afraid the woman I'm looking for doesn't have any kids with her," she said gently. "And it's not a blonde-haired boy."

"Not her kid. No, no," the old man protested. "It's _her_ kid." He nodded understandingly, leaning his head back on the rocking chair and closed his eyes. Within seconds, he was fast asleep.

The little girl gave Victoria another apologetic smile. "I'm really sorry," she said. "looks like he wasn't much help after all."

Victoria shook her head quickly. "No, I just... I was just hoping since the name of this shop... is at the back of this locket." She showed her the antique locket with a picture of a smart-looking, Russian brunette. "Maybe he knows the family name of this woman."

The little girl smiled warmly. "I'm sure you will find the person you seek," she told her. "Maybe you should try the home-for-the-aged. She might be in there."

**oooooOooooo**

**This is so much fun. Anyways! Thank you for all those people who found my pet baby panda cute and adorable. And if you're wondering, Ian's poisoned dart earned me a cute little bump on my forehead which he paid for by washing the dishes used during the Cahill feast yesterday. Hand washed, mind you.**

"**Darn right he did!" Amy exclaimed, suddenly popping out beside me. She blows out a strand of reddish-brown hair away from her eyes. "How dare he use his darts on innocent people?"**

**Innocent? Hehehe... hehe... Suuree... innocent. *sweat drops* Sudden flashback music blares out of non-existent speakers. I quickly wave my hands to make the music go away. **

**Also, I know you guys don't care so you could just skip this but I'm having major fangirl issues on a lot of ships. (Did I use that term right?) So heads-up to those who love **SEDDIE (iCarly), AMUTO (Shugo Chara!) and KUKAIxUTAU (Shugo Chara!)** So yay! XD I'd do the less than three thing, but this site won't let me.**

**QUESTION of the DAY:**

**What pairing recently has made you all fangirly? Oh yeah, I haven't read the Divergent series so if anybody has, is it good? **

**Read, re-read and REVIEW? **

**Love you guys so much, so till next time?**

**Less than three,**

**AngelicSpring**


	8. The Seventh Chapter

**Okay so, I realized that my disclaimers are just so blech and boring and frankly, aren't much of a disclaimer at all. Also, looking at previous reviews, I also had this light bulb moment that there are a lot of things I have to disclaim. So, yeah. First off, the 39 Clues series (all of those breathtaking books and those still on their way) is not mine. Second, all those products that I've mentioned like iPhone, Precious Moments, TIME, etcetera are not mine, too. Third, the characters of Dora the Explorer, Barney, Thomas and Friends, etcetera are not mine, either. Fourth, all my stories are highly fictional, ya know, stuff my ADHD mind thought of when insomnia kicks in. **

**How's that for a disclaimer AND intro?**

**...**

**See? Blech and boring. But I updated! Aren't you guys happy? I know I am! XD Haha. So I was reading your responses and I've seen some speculations and they excite me! It's like, oh gosh who's gonna figure it out first? Since The Start of Train, a lot of you guys are so sharp to see through the hints I leave in different chapters. It makes me want to write more! I'm still practicing my hands with fluffy, mushy stuff, so please bear with me. **

**So, kudos to these following people who are so loyal to this story, they make me feel so guilty because I feel like I'm not thanking them well enough: **addicted2reading9 (yes, that is correct XD), Reginaa2111 (the first three on your list are my favorite 39 Clues pairings!), Daughter of Oceanus (oohh... Is it true that the series are kinda like The Hunger Games? Waah! I wanna read it, but I can't get to the nearest bookstore just yet. Thanks, though!), ILuvHamiltonHolt (PJO FTW!), dear Guest, TheUltimateArtist, emmelinekat (I know, right?! *fangirl squeal* Haha. Thank you!), NatalieKFan and the new, avid reviewer (whose reviews on TST and TSP I've greatly appreciated and loved) magicdemi-god223 (Ugh. I know the feeling. Are those the First Quarterly Examinations? Good luck!)**. **

**On with the story.**

**Enjoy 'cause that's what matters most. **

**oooooOooooo**

**Chapter 7**

"So, the answer is underneath Uncle Alistair's hospital bed?" Amy asked slowly as she ogled at the map laid out in front of her. She still couldn't believe that the most vital lead they have proved to be so simple, so easy. _Too easy._

Sinead studied Amy for a long second before saying, "I know what you're thinking and I thought of that, too." She let out a huge breath, sending strands of her auburn hair upwards. "Aside from the riddle, Uncle Alistair said that his people's answer lies underneath. Meaning, underneath the answer to the riddle, that's where he hid whatever it is that he hid. Also, if you think about it, the riddle is from an 1897 nursery rhyme book. I'm pretty sure I saw that in his library the last time we visited. Although, I can't be sure," she admitted sheepishly. Amy kept her guarded look so she continued quickly, "We could go there and check...?"

Amy started, looking at the guilty look Sinead's wearing. "No, no," she said while chuckling, waving a dismissive hand. "I'm sure you have the right answer. It's just that... it's too easy." She frowned at the map dotted with dark green spots, supposedly trees, and the clear trail that Sinead marked with a red Sharpie.

Sinead looked confused. What was wrong with things being easier? "Okay...?"

Amy traced the Xs on the map absent-mindedly. "If the answer is this easy, how come the Vespers didn't figure it out yet? All they had to do is check Google," she murmured, her eyes taking a troubled look. She chewed on the inside of her lower lip.

"Oh..." Sinead realized, getting Amy's logic. "So, you think this is a set-up?" Her voice fell sadly, not expecting this outcome at all. Sinead had really hoped that they could investigate further especially since this cost them Uncle Alistair and this is the only lead they have on finding the killer.

She needed to weigh things out first before they go ahead and attack. "No," Amy said comfortingly, hearing the disappointment in Sinead's voice. Sinead's features brightened immediately. "Although, I think we should take extra care."

**xxxOOOxxx**

Dan felt the beckoning vibration in his chest. Another text from 'The Helping Hand'. He pretended not to have felt it and kept his eyes tightly shut. Ian is operating the plane on his own and he seems to know exactly what he's doing because they're not dead yet. Ham and Jonah are flocked on their chairs, snoring their heads off. It's pretty dark outside, so it must be ten past something in their current position. Hamilton and Jonah are cool with how the turn-out of things (the whole Dan-is-Boots-sneaks-in thing) and Ian can do nothing more than oblige. Ian wisely said that 'it's not like we could do something now' and 'not like we could kick him out', and just proceeded in pretending that Dan doesn't exist.

There was another vibrating buzz and this one, if possible, sounded more demanding. Dan squirmed in his seat, scratching the side of his head.

"Are you not getting that?" Ian asked from somewhere in the cockpit. "It's getting rather persistent."

Dan's eyes flew open at that. "How did you...?" he trailed off, looking at the back of Ian's seat in wonder.

Ian chuckled amusedly. "Just check your phone, Daniel, and no more irritating noise while I steer," he said simply, leaving Dan in silence after that slightly bewildering encounter.

Dan made a disgusted face. This incident is just one of the many proofs that Ian Cobra is not human. Probably a robot or something. With a heavy sigh, Dan fished his phone out of his pocket. He opened the first message.

**Change of plans – I need you to go to St. Petersburg. ASAP. **

Dan felt his eyebrows crinkle in confusion. He opened the second one, hoping for a clearer instruction.

**Ignore my last message, Cahill, and follow these instructions closely for I do not know when (or whether) I'll be able to contact you again. If you want the little girl and the antidote for the poison, go to the abandoned warehouse near –**

"What the –" Dan watched as the text message slowly deleted itself word by word. He acted quickly and remembered the nerdy stuff Amy's ex-boyfriend taught him. When he finally obtained the last few words, he did what any sane person would do.

He threw open one of the jet windows (minutely thinking of that small fact that the window actually opened) and against the slapping pressure of the wind outside, threw his phone out into the dark abyss. Then, he walked over to the empty seat that was supposed to be the co-pilot's and told Ian that there is a slight change in the itinerary.

**xxxOOOxxx**

"How may we help you?" asked the receptionist, looking as though she wasn't intending on helping her at all. Her desk is littered with back issues of Russian magazines and candy wrappers. The only notepad there is filled some kind of Russian tic-tac-toe or something. The old people everywhere are forlornly looking outside, like they want to get out but this old hag wouldn't let them.

The girl in the plaid mini-skirt swallowed her disgust. She cleared her throat once, not at the very least intimidated by this portly, middle-aged woman. "Uh... You see, I was wondering if Anna Mitlovski –" she started in the most polite tone she could muster.

The receptionist held out an old looking key. "Just look for her files in the room at the far end of that corridor," she yawned hugely, pointing at dimly lit corridor.

There was a moment of awkward and brewing silence after that with the teenager's raised eyebrows and the bored expression of the receptionist. "I thought this was the home for the aged?" the teenage girl asked incredulously.

"What's your point?"

The teenage girl made a face at her, showing how disappointed she was with this garbage place. She harshly snatched the key out of the glaring receptionist and left for the corridor. She saw a dingy door at the end of the it and carefully slid the key into the hole, turning it with a soft click. Her fingers immediately searched the walls on both sides for the switch when she felt a string touch her face. She grabbed hold to it and tugged. A dim yellow light filled the littered room and she let out a sneeze. "When was the last time they cleaned here?" she said irritably, tipping several boxes with her feet as she wove through the dust bunnies and yellowed papers. As she got nearer the metal shelf on the corner, she let out a gasp of surprise. That pendant...

That woman was here.

She shook her head, ignoring the sudden shaking of her fingers. She needs those papers. She needs to know if Anna Mitlovski, the odd and crazed woman who kept on visiting their primary school when they were little, really existed. It was hard to tell. The memories are all muddled, like the misty lights reflected on a river. But if this Anna person did live once, then the childhood they remember had all been part of that woman's lies.

Victoria gripped the metal shelf for support as another huge wave of memories flooded her.

"_Alex! Give that back!"_

"_I don't wanna!" _

"_Jonathan! Make him give it back!"_

"_Get it back yourself."_

_I ran and ran as fast as my little legs could go. That meanie Alex wouldn't return my teddy bear. I huddle myself into a ball behind a huge tree with pretty, colourful leaves. Then, the brown-haired woman with scary, big eyes talks to me. _

_I sniffle my tears away. "Are you my Mama?"_

"_No. But you must listen, little girl. This is bad. That woman will use you, just like she used _her_. Tell darling –"_

_Then, Mrs. Kudryashov came and shooed her away and she was very angry with me because I talk to strangers and I'm not supposed to do that. Jonathan hit me in the head lightly with his fist and Alex shyly gave me back my teddy bear and said that he was sorry. My little right hand clutched the pretty necklace with a huge pendant that the crazy lady left behind. It's pretty. Maybe my Mama owns something pretty, too. I promise to tell –_

Victoria sucked in a sharp intake of breath and immediately regretted it when she coughed up the dust bunnies. "She said something. I should tell her darling somebody something," she bit her lip as frustrated tears formed on the tips of her eyes. "Why can't I remember?" She angrily slammed her fists on the metal shelf.

**oooooOooooo**

**So... What do you guys think? Let me know by filling out those two boxes at the bottom of this page with your insights. XD You, yes you! You, wearing that black shirt and you, eating chocolate. *evil laugh* Not very long this time, huh. Gomen-desu. **

**Also, you know how Ian suddenly hates me all of a sudden? Like, boiling, deep, passionate hate? Okay, so maybe I'm exaggerating... just a little, teeny, tiny bit. But there's a reason for that and you'll see why as we continue with this story. *sweatdrops* **

**QUESTION of the DAY:**

**If you could have another identity (like, another self), somebody that you want to be regardless of what other people would think, what kind of person would you be and why? **

**I'll have to think about that myself, so... Next update, maybe? **

"**I don't care," Ian declares from somewhere in the room. "I hate you."**

**Waah!**

**Read, re-read and review?**

**Less than three,**

**AngelicSpring**


	9. The Eighth Chapter

**I AM HYPERVENTILATING. **

**Before I tell you the reason why, let us thank our awemazing reviewers: **dear Guest (I know, I'm waiting for my insomniac mind to conjure Amian, too XD), clara0414 (thank you, thank you! I seem to have that disease, don't I? The tense disease. I shall edit when my eyes are drooping no more!), Daughter of Oceanus, Reginaa2111 and addicted2reading9**! Thank you, thank you so much! Oh and BTWs, I get Daughter of Oceanus' and Reginaa2111's point. I'm like that, too. XD**

**It's like minutes away from twelve o'clock midnight and I'm typing up this AN with adrenaline rushing through my sugar-induced veins. (Blame ice cream) So, if you're a long time 39 Clues Archive-r (see, what I just did there?) or even if you're a newbie, you probably heard of The Madrigal Awards. Yes, that super cool website (found here: .com) where "the best, from the best, to the best" stories are found and awarded with their respective genres. Oh gosh, I'm still hyperventilating. Feel my heart, come on, it's gonna explode right out of my chest. Anyway, so my amazing co-author with Fabula Secunda, **FascinatingRhythm**, nominated The Start of Train for Best Multi-Chapter. And the results came. I received an e-mail that informed me that the winners are up and so, I clicked on the link and BAM! It's right there! The Start of Train won Best Multi-Chapter! Oh my gosh! *fangirl scream which will last for a whole hour***

**AngelicSpring doesn't own –**

**Aaaaaahhhhhh!**

**Anything. Please enjoy this chapter. **

**oooooOooooo**

**Chapter 8**

"I'm just saying," Hamilton started again as they continued to trek the streets of Kyoto, Japan, "Amy is not going to buy you a new phone." He kept both of his hands on the back of his neck, gazing at the temples and shrines around them. That loud, auburn-haired girl back home would have exploded into endless trivia about them that he couldn't care less about if she was here. He shrugged, looking at the many creases on his red, striped polo shirt. He would've gotten an earful out of that, too.

Jonah and Ian glared at him as they dragged a still sulking Dan along. They were both firmly gripping his arms. "You ready to explain yet, D-dawg?" Jonah asked and you could hear in his tone that he was trying not to get mad. Dan pointedly glared at the granny who was selling cherry blossom bookmarks and said nothing. He shuffled his scruffy sneakers on the cobblestoned steps.

Hamilton is not done with his ranting, completely oblivious to the atmosphere around him. "I mean, what were you thinking? Just because that phone of yours turned out to be all bugged and stuff, you could've just asked me to pummel it! Oh wait, there's no difference," he realized, sniffing the air as the mouth-watering smell of those golden-brown balls reached his nose. "What are those, you think?" he asked them without looking away from the small stall with a widely grinning old man as the vendor.

"We're ready to listen to your wise explanation," Ian said through gritted teeth, not bothering to hide his annoyance unlike Jonah, "on why in the world we're in Japan and not in Germany as we originally planned." Ian couldn't believe that this kid... this –

"If you didn't want to come, you could've just dropped me off," Dan grumbled sullenly.

"I would have _literally_ dropped you off," Ian growled, tugging Dan along the road. The bad things in his life are now piling up into a tumbling tower of bad things that would soon topple over and totally ruin his sanity.

Jonah shot Ian a warning look. "Don't start," he pleaded, feeling the start of a migraine.

"What does _ka-ko-ii_ mean? Those girls kept on saying that while looking at us," Hamilton asked, popping one of the golden-brown balls in his mouth. "Oh wow, this – whatever the freak this is – is heaven."

"When did you get that?" Jonah asked, turning sharply to look at him weirdly.

"While you were talking," Hamilton said while chewing. "Want one?" He handed him a toothpick with one of the _takoyaki_ on top. Jonah took the toothpick and finished it all in one bite, chewing with a very thoughtful expression. "Wow," he breathed, looking at the empty toothpick in wonder and completely forgetting that he was supposed to stern and on the verge of losing it, "that is some serious snack right there!"

"I know, right?" Hamilton yelled, pumping his fist in the air happily. "You want some, Kabra?" He looked at the grumpy amber-eyed, raven-haired British boy.

But, Ian was looking at something inside the temple in front of them. Something flickered deep in his eyes, glinting in the flecks of gold in his melted amber eyes. It was gone as soon as it came though, and with a flick of his hair, he shot all of them one of his cocky, world-famous smirks. "What do you think of eating on one of those quaint sushi restaurants we passed by?" he asked them with a very out-of-character, wide and friendly smile. Dan mutely scanned the surroundings with narrowed eyes, his expression extremely bored. "We're surrounded by them," he said casually, pointing his lips all around him. "We have many choices."

Hamilton stiffened at that, but Jonah was quicker to recover. He's an actor after all. Jonah put on his thinking expression. "I'm hungry now," he whined, rubbing his stomach. Jonah adjusted his huge, dark sunglasses and shifted the anime hat they found for him to minimize the chances of somebody screaming, "Jonah-sama!"The grey fox ears on top of his head became lopsided with his fussing that he looked like a fox listening for something. "Hey, Hammer!" Jonah slapped Hamilton on the back none-too-gently, successful in making him topple to the right just a little bit. "You bringing that lucky charm Sinead made you?" he asked in a sing-song voice, sounding like he was another ordinary teasing teenager while his eyes said otherwise.

Whatever tension Hamilton felt when Ian started talking evaporated when Jonah mentioned her name. "I promised myself I would use it for emergencies only," Hamilton shot back, looking at his empty container of _takoyaki_. He suddenly felt that thing feel heavy in his polo pocket. "Ugh. That snack didn't even reach my stomach. I'm still starving."

"Let's head back to that family restaurant," Ian said, turning around and taking Dan along with him. He was sure the message is safely passed on with longer and superfluous words than what Ian was used to when he shared hidden messages with Natalie. "Before we get any unnecessary exercise," he added amusedly.

All of them were about to head the other way when half a dozen muscular men in black suits with black glasses and polished black shoes blocked their way. In a swift second, the four of them were surrounded, all six of these mysterious guys forming a circle around them. With trained and keen eyes, one could easily see the figure of a gun with silencer each of their attackers have, tucked safely in their tuxes.

Ian gripped Dan's arm a little bit tighter and stepped in front of the younger kid a little bit. Dan wrinkled his nose at this but didn't complain when he saw Hamilton and Jonah do the same thing. Hamilton stepped in front a little bit and slanted his posture; Jonah did the same with opposite side. All of them were in total defense mode, yet their expressions still betrayed nothing. Dan looked around for any bystanders who probably are ogling at this by now. His jade green eyes widened as looked around. "Hey, Kabra," he whispered, using that coveted indoor voice Ian and the others always tell him to use. Ian tilted his head just teeny tiny bit in acknowledgement. "The Japanese people around us awhile ago... They're gone."

It was four teenagers against six with no audience. It was the perfect stage for a thespian crime.

"Daniel," Ian said through gritted teeth. His jaw is tightened as he analyzed their enemies. "I'll let you explain why we're here later – much, much later," he considered, "under one condition." Dan looked up at him, ready to get a scolding or something. Probably a smack on the head for getting them into this serious trouble. But, Ian's face is donned with a slightly amused, yet serious smirk. "Accomplish the mission and meet the three of us on top of the Tokyo Tower and I'm giving you only one day," Ian held up a finger to emphasize his point. And by some miracle or something, Ian actually smiled... or something like that. His lips twitched upwards and for that moment, it looked like he actually trusted Dan. Then, it was gone. Ian shifted his attention back on the matter at hand.

Still unsure, Dan looked at their impatient enemies and wondered if the three of them alone could really take them. I mean, sure, he could probably not do much anyway even if he stayed, but still. As if on cue, Hamilton gave Dan the thumbs-up from behind his back and Jonah twisted around and under his glasses, he winked in encouragement.

"But, still," Dan protested when all hell broke loose. Hamilton darted forward and landed solid kicks in the chests of the two attackers in front of him. Jonah followed suit and landed his fist on a jaw and his foot on a chest.

"Now, Dan!" Ian yelled pushing him forward. Dan hesitated for one second, but that won't do. Cahills never hesitate because hesitation gets you a poisoned dart on the forehead. Seeing the looks on the faces of his very distant cousins, Dan's feet propelled him further forward. But, one of the goons saw him and prepared to attack. He pulled out a gun and positioned for shoot to kill when, just like a viper, Ian appeared behind him and pressed his fingers once he located the attacker's collar bone and forced the man – double his size and weight – to the ground. The attacker and his gun cluttered to the ground like rocks.

Hamilton whistled somewhere on Ian's right, but wasn't successful. Apparently, whistling isn't one of his many talents. "Wheet-whoo! You think Dan-o would make it?" he asked loudly, ducking quickly when the first guy he kicked rose back up and produced a glinting knife. Hamilton stretched his foot out, tripping the attacker flat on his face.

Jonah laughed somewhere on Ian's left. "I'm sure he would!" he yelled back. "I mean, he'd better!" he added when he saw a dozen more attackers closing in on them. "Hey, I-dawg! This isn't looking very good for my insured face!"

Ian smirked, his eyes darkening as four of the attackers walked closer to him. "I bet it's time for those things the girls put in our pockets," he said, his smirk turning into a death-insuring sneer. "Don't you think?"

Oh wait. This is where all hell broke loose.

**xxxOOOxxx**

Sinead sharply turned to look at something behind her as if somebody just said her name.

"Is something wrong, beauty queen?" Jake asked, stopping to wait for her. His face is streaked with mud and his pants are tattered from hacking strange vines. He was on the lead at first, but then Evan said he recognized the curling plants in front of them now, so now he's on the lead with Amy behind him.

Sinead shook her head with an exasperated glare and retied her ponytail. "I thought I felt something..." she murmured as she smoothed her auburn hair out. "Probably nothing. And don't call me that." Jake shrugged and followed after the other two. Sinead walked after him grudgingly, still unable to shake off that bugging feeling. _Probably just the sun_, she thought. _It's getting pretty sweltering in this freaking forest._ Sinead wiped the sweat off her forehead, willing her legs to move on forward. She didn't even notice Amy had fallen behind to walk beside her. "Everything okay?" Amy asked her, putting a hand on her shoulder.

"Never better." Sinead gave her the thumbs-up as they trudged along. Then, she suddenly stopped, looking at her outstretched hand and upright finger. She felt that bugging feeling again. "Something's weird."

Amy ran a finger through the choker Ian gave her during the Human Chess Game which she tied twice on her wrist instead of her neck. "Tell me about it. Do you think something happened to them...?" she whispered.

"With those guys, there's always something happening," Sinead replied casually. She perked up, remembering something. "You think they saw the gadgets we slipped inside their pockets? Or in Jonah's case, made him wear?" The boys have their strengths, but they are still prone to overlooking stuff.

Amy laughed at that. "Probably. Ian noticed his before they even left, I think." She placed a finger on her cheek thoughtfully. "I saw his expression change when he began smoothing out his sweater. He probably filled the others in about it."

Sinead threw her hands in the air in exasperation. "Well, just like him! Noticing things he wasn't supposed to and goes blabbering about it to people!"

"Do you think they'd figure out how to use them?" Amy worried as Evan hacked through the splintering roots and waved them along.

Sinead waved the worry away with a flick of her hand. "If they work together," she said in a narrator's voice, "and stop yelling at each other and get into each other's throats every second they get, they would figure out how to make them work."

Amy chuckled nervously at Sinead's almost comical expression. "I-If you say s-so..."

"I know so!" Sinead exclaimed. "Angelle helped me design them before the Human Chess game and you pitched in. If they really were paying attention to what we say, they'd know how those things work." She nodded wisely at her statement.

"That's the problem," Amy said to herself as Sinead whistled away. "Those three aren't really for listening, are they?"

**oooooOooooo**

**Okay. I'm okay. I'm done squealing. I probably came off as over reacting to some of you, but please cut the childish girl some slack. This is my first time to actually get awarded, much less nominated, on something that I wrote. But, what I'm really trying to say is that, THANK YOU. The Start of Train wouldn't even be up there if it wasn't for your support and reviews and encouragements and reprimands and all that. Now, I'm not even writing just because I love the fandom, but also because I know you guys are there. Wait, there are Japanese people talking outside on the street. *ADHD moment* Also, thank you for that. For putting up with my ADHD *Ryan Higa moment*, my long ANs which sometimes are longer than the chapter itself and my ranting. Thank you so much. Seriously, thank you. Very, very, very much. I love you guys very much. XD**

**So, how was your week? Mine was amazing as you could probably tell. This week, I had a realization. Roller coasters don't scare me. I mean, they don't make me scream or yell and/or burst into tears. Well, that's true for the past roller coasters I've been on anyway. I just sat there with the wind slapping my face and my sisters screaming their lungs off until the ride was over. I've been upside down ten times, slammed to and fro probably twice as much. Nada. But, this weekend, we'll probably go to another theme park and the rides are way scarier so... we'll see. **

**QUESTION of the DAY:**

**Have you ever been on a scary ride? If yes, tell me what it was and I'll look it up and watch how it goes, or describe it if there are no videos available. The scariest will be mentioned on the next chapter. If you haven't, however, would you want to? Send me a PM or place it on the Review section. **

**Oops, I'll reply to PMs tomorrow... uh, later. **

**Read, re-read and review? **

**Have a rockin' nice week, everybody!**

**Muchos Love, Peace Out!**

**AngelicSpring, less than three**


	10. The Ninth Chapter

**I am so sorry for breaking my seven-days-till-updating streak. But, on the plus side, I updated! Yeah! Haha. And also, this is a pretty long chapter. Six pages on Word without the ANs. Thanks for the new Story Favorites and Follows! **

**Speaking of thank you's (kinda weird... using the apostrophe like that), our awemazing reviewers shall never go unnoticed: **TheUltimateArtist (you're welcome XD thanks for reviewing), Reginaa2111 (aww... thanks! Oh gosh! Are you okay? I saw that ride when we went to EK, but it was closed so we ended up in Viking XD haha), hollysta1 (I watched the ride and it was creepy! XD where would you hold on to during the ride?), Daughter of Oceanus (omgosh! The rides you mentioned are so like the theme park's rides we went to! XD kinda like they want to fling you up in the sky XD), dear Guest (aww... thank you! I'm a proud Janus! XD my baby panda says thank you!), addicted2reading9 (I added you as friend! XD thanks, btw!), clara0414 (I know, right?! That's how I typed it at first but then green, squiggly lines appeared on both the things you mentioned and was autocorrected. Yep, that's right! Alex is kinda the youngest, but only by a little bit. Did I mention otherwise? I tend to overlook those kinda things), Kaze no Firework (oh that sounds so cool! Yep, that's what it means! Aw... thank you), emmelinekat (poor you! Do you have an upcoming recital or something? Good luck! Oh and thanks for the support!) and amianrox (aww... thanks! You're questions shall now be answered!)**. **

**DISCLAIMER:**

**Ian Kabra steps inside the room, donned in his 'casual' clothes of long-sleeved white Armani polo paired with black slacks from a store which is surely just as expensive. Not even gonna mention the shoes. He clears his throat as if he was the most important person in the world. Which you, fan girls in the background, are proving true with your screaming and squealing. (Here is where I say, "Thank you oh so very much" real sarcastically.) "Obviously, AngelicSpring can't own anything which has something to do with the 39 Clues. Especially the people in it, god forbid!" Ian exclaims with his gaze trained upwards. **

**Please enjoy this chapter and ignore Ian Kabra. Whatever he does won't change what I have in mind for –**

**Just on with the story. **

**oooooOooooo**

**Chapter 9**

Sinead, Amy, Evan and Jake simultaneously bit on their apples with a very sour expression. They had agreed to take a little break before they set off again to follow the forest trail that would lead them – hopefully – towards a hidden entrance to the hospital. The trail they are following is the only untracked way to the place where Alistair Oh was last seen since it was this thick forest with tall canopy of trees that nobody in their right minds would think of going through, so suffice to say that it could be a hoax or a trap. Whichever of the two does not look good, but all the other paths have high surveillance.

Evan rested his back on a moss-covered tree trunk, a feat that you could never make Ian Kabra do. "How much do we still have to trek?" he asked, stretching his legs.

"Approximately two more metres," Sinead answered, glancing at a stopwatch-shaped gadget in her hand that held their exact coordinates and that of their destination. She gave him a dubious look. "Tired yet, Tolliver?"

Evan glared at her. "No. I just have to estimate how much poisonous vines I have to hack through," he said in an acidic fashion.

Jake slapped his shoulder, hard. "Oh, come on! Man up." The glasses-clad boy shot him a look that said, _Don't push me_. Jake raised his hands defensively.

Amy sighed dejectedly. "I wonder if the others are okay," she murmured out-of-the-blue.

Evan studied her for a long moment. This was why they called off their relationship in the first place. Because no matter how much that Ian guy hurts her and lies to her, Amy still worries, still frets about him. Ian sneakily goes and visits his mother in prison, Amy worries if he's okay. He disappears to god-knows-where without leaving anything behind to know if he's still on their side; Amy frets if he's doing fine on his own. Evan didn't mind, no, sir. He wasn't going to be one of those overly possessive, jealous boyfriends. But the thing is, it's not only Amy who worries. He saw it every day before that Brit boy left the HQ. Ian would stare at multiple screens for those who are suspicious enough to be part of the Vesper Council. At one call for help from the Cahill siblings, Ian would whip not one, not two, but three phones all at once, talking to connections all over the world for access in this museum, or the Prime Minister's room, or anywhere.

Evan wasn't stupid. He knew that's how Ian shows just how much he cares. And it was too much for just someone who is working for the sake of cooperation. Evan asked Sinead about it – that one time when she 'accidentally' dropped a sleeping pill in Ian's Earl Grey – and with her prompt answer, he felt a strong punch of insecurity. Their past was huge, if not scarred. He knew that he was no match for that Brit boy anyway. Starting from the looks, the attitude, Evan stood no chance. But it was the connection that doomed him. It was unfair in all aspects because of the two of them, the Jerk Meter is pretty much won by the other boy. Evan pursed his lips and said nothing.

Sinead and Jake noticed Evan's sudden preoccupation. They looked at each other when Jake shrugged. "Better leave him alone," he told her. "A penny wouldn't be able to buy his thoughts."

"He's moved on, though," Sinead replied, feeling that she needs to state the obvious.

Jake shrugged again. "Doesn't mean he forgot, I guess," he said, his tone taking on a weird edge as if he's also talking from a personal perspective. Sinead waited for him to explain what he meant, but Jake fell silent after that. All of them finished their snacks in thoughtful silence, only standing after half an hour passed and they felt the need to continue on their journey.

**xxxOOOxxx**

Hamilton panted as he flopped beside Jonah on the corner of the dingy, dark and narrow alleyway. The walls are packed with crumbling Japanese posters. His clothes had long tatters from near-death encounters from a bullet and a knife. He also had a huge gash on his shoulder and while the blood is already starting to clot, it was still dripping on the floor in thick, dark red droplets. Jonah isn't looking much better either. There was a tender bruise on his jaw and it was turning a bright violet. His ankle is sprained pretty badly, almost as if it was broken. Ian leaned back on the wall, for once not caring if his clothes are getting filthy from doing so because he was busy nursing his broken arm. They didn't attract that much attention since apparently and conveniently, there is a cosplay convention in town.

"Did we lose them?" Hamilton asked as he placed a hand on his side, wincing as he did so because of the sudden lance of pain that shot from it up to his head. He mumbled a curse as he remembered the solid kick one of those idiots landed on his rib cage. "Please tell me we lost them."

Jonah leaned his head back. "All those stunts they taught me back in my gangsta days looked like rock-paper-and-scissors compared to what I did back there," he complained, flexing his fingers.

"I think we've lost them for now," Ian said, sneaking a quick look on the bustling streets outside the alleyway. "Although I'm sure they are still looking for us."

"How did she even make this kinda thing?" Hamilton asked in a totally random note, bewildered. He tossed a bronze, expensive-looking ballpoint pen up in the air. As soon as the pen reached the highest point it could, the pen lengthened to the size of his arm and two sharp, double-edged blades erupted from both of its sides. Hamilton caught it on mid-air and twirled it around his wrist.

"At least you got the pen," Jonah whined, loosening his skinny, white tie with his pointer finger and it drooped down low in his chest. He gripped the part near his neck and tugged at it, successful in removing it entirely. With a swift flick of his wrist, the tie hardened into a thin sword. "I get this tie that doesn't go well with all my clothes." Jonah sighed dejectedly.

Ian raised an eyebrow at him. "You know that Angelle made that, right?"

"You know that she won't hear that last comment if you two are maimed, right?" Jonah shot back, using the same tone Ian used. He looked at him curiously. "What did you get?"

Ian held up a coin. It was something either of them wouldn't recognize even if they look at it closer and notice the ancient pattern. "This," he said, flipping it high up in the air. Nothing happened.

Hamilton and Jonah looked at each other. "Is it just me or nothing really happened?" Hamilton asked, pointing at the weird, old coin.

Ian sighed impatiently. He gave the wall behind him a quick punch. It cracked.

Hamilton and Jonah whistled. Well, Hamilton did his "Wheet-whoo!" thing while Jonah whistled.

Ian rolled his amber eyes. He studied the mischievous coin in his hand, all-too-familiar with the replicated pattern. "The coin absorbs the energy from the velocity it acquired while being flipped. Then, it generates energy through the entire arm, powering up the nerves," he explained. Ian turned to look at them after his monologue, only to see their confused and somewhat spaced out expressions. He sighed. "The coin is a magical thing that makes your arm stronger," he tried again.

"Oh..." Hamilton and Jonah said together, nodding their heads in understanding.

"Quite ingenious of my young niece, is it not?"

The three of them immediately tensed and Ian poised to flip the coin again. The entrance of the dark alleyway is blocked by an aging man wearing a long trench coat that didn't look like it was tailored in Japan. Both of his hands are placed atop a diamond-tipped walking cane.

"Don't bother, young Kabra," he said happily. "My darling niece upgraded my cane as well. Now if you don't mind coming with me..." He turned around, not even checking if the three are following after him. Because they would.

As if in a trance, Ian, Hamilton and Jonah followed Alistair Oh, who they all thought was dead, out into the open.

**xxxOOOxxx**

"Eat as much as you like," Alistair said with a mild smile. He placed the tray filled with three bowls of steaming hot ramen and glasses of iced tea on top of the table where Hamilton, Jonah and Ian are seated together. "You three looked like you've been through a lot this morning." He appraised their tattered clothes, bright bruises and bleeding wounds. The medical kit he asked for has yet to come.

"And you look good for somebody who rose from the dead," Hamilton replied, taking a bowl for himself and shovelled food in his mouth, ignoring the chopsticks and using the spoon beside them instead. "Do you know how worried Sinead was?"

At this, Alistair raised both his eyebrows. "So, it's Sinead now and not Starling?" he said with a greatly amused expression. Hamilton choked on his iced tea.

"Well, that's one of the many perks of being in the dating zone. You get to be in the first-name basis," Jonah said casually, blowing on his noodles before taking a huge mouthful. Ian noticed the confused look in Uncle Alistair's face and quickly explained. "Holt and Starling are now dating." Hamilton had his head bowed close to his ramen bowl but his ears are turning a bright shade of pink.

"How long have I not seen you children?" Alistair asked himself disbelievingly. Then, he looked at Ian curiously. "So, what I'm hearing is, this young Tomas managed all this before you did, Kabra?"

Jonah and Hamilton spluttered with their iced tea and quickly dove into their ramen before Ian could see their shoulders shaking in laughter. It was a very innocent question, but it strikes a nerve. Ian refused to say anything and looked out the window instead.

Alistair raised his eyebrows in Jonah and Hamilton's direction. "I'll take that as a yes then, eh?" he said while chuckling.

"The two of them are not very... compatible at the moment," Jonah admitted, enjoying both of his cousins' discomfort. "I-dawg got on Amy's bad side."

"Doesn't he always?" Alistair agreed with a nod of his head.

But, Jonah isn't done yet. He has gone to total gossip mode and Alistair is drinking it all up. "I know, but this time he went a little too far and Hammer here ended up getting on S-dawg's bad side, too," he informed the old man.

Alistair leaned in closer, still nodding his head understandingly. "You do not want to get on Sinead's bad side."

Hamilton looked at the two of them incredulously. "I didn't get on her bad side!" he exclaimed defensively. "It's just that she wants this and I want that and it wouldn't meet halfway!" He threw his hands up in exasperation and slammed his forehead on the table.

Ian forgot his shunning mode and smirked at Hamilton. "Wow, that was deep," he murmured appreciatively. He took a chopstick-full bite of his ramen, expecting more of Hamilton's words of wisdom.

"I mean, what was I supposed to do?!" Hamilton asked them. "She's just so darn stubborn and now she's probably getting herself killed just to prove she's right!"

Ian glanced at Jonah amusedly. Jonah winked at him and slipped a phone out. Ian raised both eyebrows at this. Jonah pointed at Alistair. They both chuckle deviously.

"Why are girls so annoying? This is why I never bothered in the first place!" Hamilton declared, still oblivious that his loud rants are being recorded. His cool, bright blue eyes shone in accordance with his indignity.

Alistair rested both his hands atop his walking cane. "So why are you bothering now?" the old man asked.

That made Hamilton stop. He opened his mouth to respond, only to have it closed again. He pursed his lips in thought.

_Oh, this is gonna be good_, Jonah mouthed, chuckling to himself. Ian had to agree.

"I..." Hamilton started thoughtfully. "Because I... huh. Why _do_ I bother?" He fell silent after that, still musing to himself.

Alistair turned his attention to the other two, knowing that Hamilton would surely take his time with this one. "So what brings you to Japan?"

"We were originally headed to Germany, but Daniel helped me man the jet, insisting that we head to Japan instead," Ian told him. "After he got a very persistent text message." He perked up at that, finally realizing a huge piece he missed. "I should have asked him who it was from!"

"That is not good," Alistair murmured. "He might be receiving messages from suspicious people just like the last time."

"Well," Jonah intercepted. "We can't do anything else aside from waiting for D-dawg to come back, right?"

Ian buried his head in his hands, remembering his last-moment decision. "Amy is going to kill me if she ever finds out I let her moronic brother go out there alone," he said, his words slightly muffled. He sighed sadly. "Never mind that. How did you escape Wyoming? From what Starling said, you were pretty much doomed." Ian raised an eyebrow at Alistair's direction.

Alistair laughed. "It's amazing how Cahill teamwork could save lives," he replied, his eyes twinkling like a child's.

Jonah made a face. "Wha?"

There was a knock on the sliding door and was opened none too gently. A neatly dressed man, probably in his late thirties or early forties, strode inside the room. He had a darker shade of skin than Ian which was the only striking similarity Jonah saw. The man noticed Ian as quickly as Ian recognized him. "It's you," was all he said to acknowledge Ian.

Ian shot up from his seat. "You're Natalie's doctor! You –"

"Yes, yes. I was the one who delivered that younger Kabra," the doctor replied airily in a highly superior British accent. He had every bit of arrogance as the Kabra family.

"Are you a Cahill?" Jonah asked hesitantly.

The doctor raised an eyebrow. "How should I answer that question? Alphabetically or chronologically?" he shot back. "I'm not here for small talk. How is that younger sister of yours doing?" He nodded at Ian's direction.

"She-She was taken," Ian said. His hands clenched into fists.

"And you let a little kid save her?" The doctor looked at the younger boy, clearly unimpressed.

Ian's amber eyes glinted. "I didn't have a choice!" he answered defensively, too defensive to take note of the doctor's sudden knowledge of his decision. "We were surrounded by –"

The doctor waved a hand. "I don't care. How about that scary witch of a mom you have?" he continued, apparently not seeing anything offensive with his words.

"I don't know and I don't care," Ian snapped, his temper rising by the second at the nerve of this doctor. It doesn't matter if he's a Lucian just like he was. The coin Amy gave him chooses nobody.

"Well, you should," the doctor replied just as snappily. He crossed his arms over his chest with a disgusted look on his face directed at Ian. "That woman has all of you at the end of her strings. You're nothing but puppets to her and you're playing exactly in her tune."

Ian was about to shout back at him when his mind fully processed what the doctor was saying. His hands relaxed at his sides from the offensive mode they had a little while back. "What is that supposed to mean?"

The doctor smirked. "I guess you have met your 'twin', haven't you?"

Ian said nothing yet the tightening of his jaw betrayed everything else.

"'Remember your childhood, Ian Kabra.'" The doctor levelled his eyes with Ian's. "That's what your father wanted me to tell you."

"M-My father?" Ian stammered, his eyebrows scrunching in confusion. A blurred image of a man's shadow entered his mind as he thought of the possibility that this man knows who this mystery father was.

But, Ian's mistaken. "Your father, my brother, that idiot Lucian leader who's in hiding," the Lucian doctor, Adhiraj Kabra, glared at his nephew. He turned to leave. "I know that your father's not much, but he's still a Lucian and he's no complete idiot. Maybe a little bit. Remember that, brat." Then, he left.

Ian bent his head and slumped on his seat, his face darkening exponentially.

Jonah whistled low under his breath. "Tough dude for an uncle," he muttered in his own tone of sympathy.

Alistair smiled. "That's Adhiraj's own way of encouragement. I'm sure," he glanced at Ian, "that he understands his point."

Jonah put on his confused face. "That crazy doctor had a point?" he asked incredulously. "I thought he just wanted to stomp on I-dawg's optimism."

"Nevertheless, Adhiraj was – coincidentally – in the same hospital as I was," Alistair continued. "The triplets' doctor was with me as well. As my private doctor. All three of us got out safely."

Jonah nodded his head. "Oh, I see. But how did y'all –"

"I got it!" Hamilton jumped from his seat. He had been completely oblivious of Ian's uncle ever since Alistair's last question. He had been racking his mind for an answer. His eyes were suddenly twinkling and frankly, it was creeping the whole room out. "I bother because she's not like other girls! Although, that could be in a good and in a bad way." He looked at them for support and when he got none, he agreed with himself anyway, muttering happily while he finished his noodles.

"I'm never going down that road," Jonah told Alistair, making a face at Hamilton's weirdness.

**oooooOooooo**

**Aww... Oh, Hamilton. Sweet, naive Hamilton. And Alistair's not helping is he? Whaddaya think about Vikram's surprise brother? I like him, to tell ya the truth. He's so... harsh and frank. Yep, he's a Lucian, alright! I dunno if Vikram's an only child in the series or what... but either way, just remember that TSP and TST are kinda AU. Whaddaya think about the gadgets? Too fictional? Can you tell where I got the ideas? Haha.**

**On a completely useless note, I have just recently watched Avalon High and wheet-whoo! I wanna read/watch more of King Arthur and Merlin and Guinevere and Lancelot. I know I've watched a film about King Arthur and Lancelot was there and I think, he's new to the place or something because then, people started pushing him forward to this literally killer obstacle course. There were huge traps and cutting stuff and Lancelot passed through them unscathed. Guinevere was there, too. I don't remember King Arthur that much, and I have zilch memories of Merlin. There were lots of burning villages, though. *sigh***

**QUESTION of the DAY:**

**School is nearly starting with only a few weeks left. What are the most common scenarios at your school every first day of school? I got my homework for the first term and does anybody know what the freak Fermat's Last Theorem is about? I read a lot of stuff about it and finished my research, but all the math-sy stuff is beyond me. Blech. **

**Tell me what's wrong, what sound weird and what... you're thinking right now by filling the Review space down there.**

**Read, re-read and review? **

**Wishing you nice and rockin' days before school starts!**

**AngelicSpring**


	11. The Tenth Chapter

**Okay, so I'll turn into the worst fan fiction-er ever. I don't know how long I'll be gone. I don't know when I'll update next. But rest assured I would. I know you guys always put up with my irresponsibility, but the thing is I'm in a new school, I don't know anybody so naturally I don't have friends. Most of the students – actually, put up your right hand, count your fingers and the number of new students is less than that – have known each other since they were in kindergarten, so imagine how hard it is to fit in. The entire curriculum is new and I'm supposed to volunteer a lot if I want to pursue the career I want. I am so sorry. Please, cut me some slack. Follow me on Twitter (I always check that because that's the only way my friends back home talk to me) or send me a PM if you have any complaints or you have something to say, I wouldn't get mad or get upset. You know, I like hearing from you guys. **

**So yeah. Here's a pretty long chapter. I'm really sorry if you're disappointed. I would try my very best to update as soon as possible like next week. Or the week after that. I promise to try my best. Really. I would. I hope you don't stop supporting this story. Thank you all so much.**

**Awesome reviewers: **emmelinekat (thank you so much! Your reviews always make me smile. Seriously), magicdemi-god223 (here it is, Dan's POV. Sadly we were given homework during enrolment. Haha), Reginaa2111 (haha XD), NatalieKFan (oh gosh! I'm so happy for you! A baby?! D'aww! Congrats!), clara0414 (I thought I had the gun part edited but oh well. Thank you for pointing those out! Seriously, you should be a beta. XD You have the patience. FINALLY! Somebody asks that question! Haha. But no. Angelle is nothing like me and nope, she's not based on me either. Hihi. I would edit, I promise. For the sake of people's sanity), ILuvHamiltonHolt (how are you?! Haha. I died on the couch, too. Well, that one time it was in the shower, so...), e (Team Hamead!) and Aster (Thank you so much. Sorry if I disappoint you.) **Thank you all so much. You make me feel so loved. XD Less than three. **

**DISCLAIMER: No, I don't.**

**Enjoy, 'cause that's what matters most. **

**oooooOooooo**

**Chapter 10**

"Aww... It's so boring," Ned whined, putting his feet up the control panel at comm. centre. He shook the empty bag of chips and held out his tongue for the remaining crumbs. "What do we do?"

Atticus looked at all of the Cahills in the room anxiously. He's never been alone with Dan's cousins before and he was terrified. Whenever Dan tells him stories about them, the endings are not really very 'happily-ever-after'. Actually, every single one of those stories ends with 'and then, he broke his neck' or 'in the end, she got splattered with chocolate syrup'. So, he wasn't exactly thrilled at being left alone with this bunch.

Madison lurched up to her feet with a very excited look on her face. "I got it!" she shouted, looking at all of them with flushed cheeks. Reagan, who was seated on the couch beside her twin, looked up at her. Ned and Ted looked at her with identical, uninterested faces. Phoenix and Keightlyn looked up from the jigsaw puzzle they were finishing. "Why don't we..." Madison trailed off, checking everybody's expressions first. "Go through their stuff for blackmailing material?"

Her suggestion met a thoughtful silence before Ted broke it. "Huh." Ted stared at the ceiling. "Normally, as the oldest –"

"One of the oldest," Ned interjected, shooting his twin a dirty look. They've been over this born-after-just-a-half-minute thing and Ted just doesn't get, does he?

Ted ignored his twin. " – one here, I should be disagreeing to your plan." Ted nodded his head seriously, contemplating the situation.

The entire room held their breath for the verdict.

Ted narrowed his green eyes at all of them. "So, whose stuff are we going through first?" All of them jumped to their feet excitedly except for Atticus. The others are all arguing that they really should go through Hamilton's stuff first, but then, Ian's stuff are pretty tempting, too.

"Um... Uh..." Atticus stammered, trying to get their attention before any of them could get their hands around each other's throats. Surprisingly, it worked. The Cahills turned to look at the cowering kid with the glasses.

"What is it, kiddo? You have a suggestion?" Ned asked.

Atticus shook his head nervously. "We-well... A-Amy and Si-Sinead said that we shouldn't b-be snooping a-around other pe-people's stuff," he stuttered, feeling the weight of their stares on him. He shut his eyes tightly, preparing himself for a good smack in the head.

Like an explosion, the room erupted into laughter. "Oh, Atticus. Young, innocent, Atticus," Ned chuckled deviously. He looked at his twin amusedly which Ted returned with a smirk. "Doesn't get a thing in the world, does he?"

Ted nodded with his own share of chuckles. "You see, buddy." He rested his hands on Atticus' shoulder. "When a Cahill tells you that you _shouldn't_ that just means that you _should_, but it would be 'hard to do'," Ted explained as if it was an important life lesson, making quotation marks in the air.

"Do you understand, shrimp?" Reagan asked with her arms crossed across her chest. Madison had the same posture.

Atticus nodded slowly and uneasily joined in on the laughter that erupted once more as they decided against Ian's stuff and Hamilton's stuff. Oh, boy.

**xxxOOOxxx**

Jonathan slowly approached the sleeping figure of Natalie Vesper-Hollingsworth. He was emotionless as he slithered closer, his sharp ears quick to hear her mumbles. He rolled his eyes in loathing for that self-centered moron who asked him to take over his twin's job. He strode over to the white board beside her bed and quickly scanned through her vital signs and the progress of the project. Something inside his chest clenched when he noticed that the last addition to the reports is written in Victoria's handwriting.

With a deadpanned look in his eyes, Jonathan carried the dozing girl in his arms and walked out of the room. It would be a long and tiring trip to where they are supposed to be.

**xxxOOOxxx**

"We're here," Sinead whispered urgently. There was a thin gash running from the side of her head down her cheek. They were at the edge of the forest, just a few feet away from the wall of the alleged Vesper-infested hospital.

Amy took a deep, staggering breath. "Now or never," she said. She was looking for any way entry when she saw a sneaking teenager on the far left side. "Look at that." She pointed at the stripes-clad stealth machine. "She's breaking and entering."

"You mean, like us after a few minutes?" Evan raised an eyebrow.

Jake narrowed his eyes at the target and placed a hand on his forehead. "Huh. I wonder what she's doing."

"One way to find out," Sinead declared, straightening from their crouched position. "We'll ask her." She started walking towards the teenager who is now picking a lock from what looked like a blank white wall.

"Sinead –!" Amy half-shouted, jumping up and successful in rustling the bushes. This, of course, alerted the other teenager of their presence. The stealthy teenager turned at their direction so fast that her beret fell, revealing a messy clump of unevenly cropped, raven black hair. Jake leapt forward and tackled Sinead to the ground, just in time when a couple of darts came whooshing up their heads. Evan slid his own dart gun out of his jacket pocket and pointed it at the offensive intruder. Amy rushed forward to check Sinead and Jake of any damages. Evan slowly walked forward, his dart gun still meticulously trained on other girl's heart.

The raven haired girl, who we all know as Victoria, moved forward in small, lithe steps, almost as if she was dancing. She had a look of recognition on her face as she cautiously yet surely moved towards them, her own gun poised over Evan's chest. "You're Cahills, aren't you?" she asked, her eyes locked on Amy. "What are you doing here in St. Petersburg?"

"We could ask you the same question," Evan shot back, hoping that he exuded a quarter of Ian's natural confidence.

Victoria raised an eyebrow. "I'm a native here," she said matter-of-factly. To prove it, she began speaking in rapid Russian, too quick for any of them to translate. Evan and Amy looked at each other.

"You work with that evil twin of Ian Kabra?" Jake spluttered, obviously the only one who understood her ramblings.

All of them were shocked that Jake turned out to be bilingual if not multilingual, yet Victoria seemed to be unperturbed. She looked as though she was expecting that somebody would be intelligent enough to understand. "I did," she replied, not letting go of her Russian language.

"Not anymore?" Jake clarified when she noticed that she used past tense, switching to her language.

Victoria shook her head. She pointedly slipped her dart gun inside her coat to prove her neutrality.

"She won't hurt us. I think," Jake hesitated, looking at the others and helping Sinead to her feet. He looked at Evan and addressed him. "Don't let your guard down." Evan nodded once.

"Will you answer my question?" Victoria asked them, now in clear English.

"We're investigating something which is none of your business," Sinead shot back acerbically, still annoyed that she had to be shove down the ground because of this girl's impulsiveness.

Victoria ignored her jabbing tone. "You never know, Cahill. We just might be 'investigating' the same thing," she purred teasingly. She had a funny look on her face as though she wanted to really get on their nerves.

"It's about you killing my uncle," Sinead growled, wanting so badly to strangle this girl.

"Oh, that," Victoria said flippantly. "I don't think he died."

Sinead staggered back. "Wha-What?"

"Wyoming ended up with a bullet wedged deep inside his shoulder blade," Victoria smirked. Whether she found Wyoming being severely injured amusing or their expressions even more so was a mystery to the others.

"So, Uncle Alistair's safe," Sinead breathed a sigh of relief.

"But, you'll still try to go inside, won't you?" Victoria guessed, jerking a thumb at the hospital's direction.

"I don't think that's anymore of your business," Jake cut through, pointing a spot on the white wall of the hospital with his lips. "So there are hidden doors on the walls?"

"Maybe," Victoria shrugged. Then, she started walking away.

Amy grabbed her arm. "Wait!" Victoria tilted her head back. "You didn't tell us what you were looking for," Amy continued, not missing the flash of wariness on the other girl's face. "We might be able to help."

Sinead looked at Amy disbelievingly. She knew exactly that this was an Amy thing to do, but still.

Victoria let out a hard chuckle. She removed her arm from Amy's grip and said, "I don't need a Cahill's help. There's a password-protected door on the left side. I'm sure you're smart enough to figure it out." Victoria pulled a slightly longer than usual bobby pin from her hair and inserted it on a miniscule keyhole on the wall she was working on earlier. She glanced at her watch and after five seconds, a billow of smoke erupted from it. With one last, smug look at the Cahills, Victoria slipped inside and the door clicked shut.

"Should we listen to what she said?" Evan asked them. "It might be a trap."

Amy looked at the ostensibly blank wall that Victoria indicated. "We have to risk it," she decided. "We can't go in the same way she did."

"Why not?" Jake asked.

"Because she already led the guards in her direction," Amy replied, holding out the hand she placed on Victoria's arm. It was stained with blood as red as rose.

**xxxOOOxxx**

Dan felt sick in his stomach. It wasn't because he was hungry. He just ate. But, it was the anxious guilty feeling that makes his stomach turn upside down. He glared at the box in his hands as he continued to trudge towards the streets of Kyoto, knowing that he's near the appointed place.

He bought a box of ninja stuff. The legit kind. A hidden store he so coincidentally passed by was selling them and as a ninja, he couldn't resist, now can he? He is now in the middle of distributing the smaller ninja stuff in each of his pockets to distract his mind. But, the guilty feeling won't subside. If the older Cobra was here, he would've bonked him in the head for wasting precious time. _You never know when they will come in handy_, Dan thought to himself, imagining himself throwing the ninja stars at the enemies they had a while ago. With a heavy sigh, Dan opened the box and placed six shuriken inside his jacket pocket, three in pants. Only one more. Where to put? He played with it as he decided. Then, he pulled to a stop.

"This is the place," Dan breathed, the glinting shuriken still in his hands. He cautiously walked inside the vacant warehouse, glancing behind him to see if he had tails. Nobody seemed to be following him.

"Hello?" he called out, pushing the heavy door open. "I'm here now, Helping Hand-san. Where's the younger Cobra?"

Noticeably, Dan hasn't mastered the whole concept of stealth and silence. So, naturally, he alerted the snakes around the place. Three men in black biker vests, all of which are sleeveless, came in with heavy-looking tubing pipes in hands.

The first guy spoke up in Japanese. It sounded as if he was asking Dan something.

Dan narrowed his eyes at him and blew his hair out of his eyes. "Don't know what you just said," he replied, pointing a finger at the speaker. "But, I come in peace." He held up both his hands in a Star Wars hand sign.

The men grunted, blasé, obviously unimpressed.

"No? Okaay..." Dan crossed his arms over his chest, his right hand feeling up his jacket for the shuriken. "That's gonna be a problem 'cause I don't fight. Usually."

The other biker dude told the third man something and all three of them guffawed. Dan joined in their loud laughter. After a few more awkwardly-shared chortles, the three men stopped, leaving Dan laughing on his own.

"You understand, attack?" the first one asked Dan, his lips pulled into a tight, sadistic smile.

"Oh." Dan felt a trickle of sweat down his back. "Yeah, I understand that."

The second man wore the same spine-chilling grin. "Then, run."

Dan held his ground, smirking as he slid his arms off the pockets of his jacket and pants. He flicked his wrist downwards and smoke erupted from the ground in front of him. Billows of smoke increased exponentially, cloaking the three mean in suffocating, white smoulder. They felt the need to shut their eyes and the coughing followed soon after. When they opened their eyes after a few seconds, the little, dirty blonde-haired boy was gone, leaving in his wake the shells of ninja smoke bombs.

**xxxOOOxxx**

The next day, Hamilton yawned hugely, stretching his long arms way above his head, as he blearily made his way inside the kitchen of Alistair's Japanese home. It was eight in the morning; the sun is shining happily out in the streets of Japan. Jonah is already seated on the table, scanning through a newspaper while munching on an octopus-shaped hotdog which is perched on his chopsticks. Hamilton looked around the room. "Where's Kabra?" he asked, flopping down the wooden chair opposite Jonah.

Jonah briefly looked at him and went back to looking at the pictures on the paper. "Morning to you, too," he greeted dryly. He glanced at the sliding door. "As for I-dawg, he's still in Dreamland. I don't think he managed to sleep a wink last night."

Hamilton nodded in between huge mouthfuls of pancakes and eggs. "Aren't we supposed to meet Dan-o today in that tower?" he asked with his mouth still full.

Jonah wrinkled his nose, but nodded silently.

"Well, what are we waiting for?" Hamilton chugged on his glass of orange juice, sighing hugely when he finished.

Jonah frowned at him, and then glanced at his watch. "Precisely seven hours, forty-four minutes and ten seconds," he informed him. "Ian's cutting Dan some slack and meant it when he said he was giving him a day." He held up his hands, two fingers on his right hand and four on his left, indicating twenty-four hours.

"Huh." Hamilton thought about it, glaring at Jonah's fingers. "Well, that's stupid," he muttered, feeling dejected at the sudden drop of adrenaline. He moodily stabbed at a mini hotdog with a chopstick and chewed on it.

Jonah folded his newspaper and stared out the window. "I wonder if that person who's helping Dan-o would keep his word..."

Hamilton chewed mutely. He knows that Jonah was also thinking about the antidote for that Saunders girl. As he finished the rest of his meal, Hamilton felt guilty about his impatience. _Out of the three of us, Jonah should have the most reasonable edginess and yet, he sits there, tolerating mine instead_, he thought. If you think about it, Ian made the choice of letting Dan handle everything, so he pretty much can't complain. Hamilton just tagged along to help, not having anything on the line. Jonah, however... Jonah has been silent until now, simply going with the flow of the mission. "I'm sure Dan will get Natalie and the antidote back," he assured him. "He's a Cahill after all."

Jonah thought about that last sentence for a moment. "Did you ever wonder if being a Cahill is a good thing or not?" he asked him in a very quiet voice. "If it's more of a compliment than an insult?"

Adhiraj leaned against the sliding door outside of the dining room, shaking his head with a sad smile. _These kids are now learning how cruel this world is, especially when you're a Cahill._ "They might just get out of this predicament in one piece," he murmured softly to himself, thinking of all the things he himself has seen. He made a face as he clutched the side of his stomach. Now, all he need is for that young, cocky Kabra to ask the right questions before it's too late.

In weird accordance to his thoughts, Ian appeared at his left. "You didn't get out of that hospital totally unscathed, did you?" he asked his uncle in a form of greeting.

Adhiraj smirked which for anybody who knows him, is as close to a smile as it could get. "Is that really the first question you should be asking me?" he told Ian, almost as if he was mocking him.

Ian rolled his amber eyes at him. "You and Father are so much alike, aren't you?" He stuck his hands inside the pockets of his dark trousers. "Always hiding hints in everything you say."

"Took you long enough," Adhiraj said simply, neither acknowledging the question nor agreeing to it.

Ian studied his uncle. Adhiraj had a look of impatience, almost as if he couldn't see that Ian is leading him to answer the questions he wouldn't ask yet. But he could and Adhiraj wouldn't say anything unless Ian asks him first. It was a battle of the wills. Ian sighed dejectedly, knowing that he wouldn't win this one, especially if he's playing this game with a senior Lucian. It might have worked if he's dealing with any other branch of the Cahills, but... He took a deep breath before asking that one question that mattered more than anything else. "That Alexander Ian person is not my twin, is he?"

Adhiraj breathed a slow breath in and looked at Ian. "Isabel only had one son."

Ian watched in stunned silence as Adhiraj left him to contemplate on his answer. Ian huffed an annoyed breath out, hitting his forehead with his fists as he felt another wave of a migraine. _Oh, Isabel... You and your dirty, little tricks. _

**oooooOooooo**

**Give me a heads-up on those mistakes I've missed, the character stuff I've confused you with and pretty much the things you think I got wrong. **

**Ask me the questions, guys. Personal, trivial, conversational... Anything at all. As long as it's not Math. 'Cause that subject hates me. So, yeah.**

**Love you, guys, so freaking much and I'll talk to y'all next time. And hopefully you have, like, A LOT of interesting stories. **

**Read, re-read, review? Spread the word! **

**Much Love, Peace Out!**

**AngelicSpring is now OUT and will be waiting for your tweets, PMs and Reviews. **


	12. The Eleventh Chapter

**Sometimes I feel like I'm way too random for my own good.**

**What do you guys feel like sometimes?**

**Read, Re-read and Review.**

**Much Love –**

**Wait, what AM I DOING?!**

**...**

**Haha. I crack myself up. XD Okay, aside from that useless/pointless intro, let us celebrate! I am updating with a most likely would be shocking (what now?) chapter and I'm currently still up at 12 past something something. Why is it that chapter ideas come to me in the wee hours (say what now?) of the night?! Huh. **

**Let's thank our reviewers! Thank you so much, **amianrox (I'm very, very glad and relieved that you liked it XD), magicdemi-god223 (I know, right? So confusing! Who is writing this stuff? ... ... Oh yeah... Me. Haha. Don't worry I've been dropping small hints here and there, and bigger ones sooner or later. I hope this update is soon enough XD), Shimmering Icicles (I'm glad you're liking this story so far! Yep. Most of my subjects hate me, but that's okay, I'll keep on liking them... There really isn't a serious way of that! Haha.) and FascinatingRhythm (my wonderful co-author! I am so glad and happy and elated and excited and all those happy-synonyms!)** Thank you for making time despite being busy (and school) and everything to write a review more than one-sentence long. I know I've said this once, but I'll say it again ('cause I'm random like that), even a 'less than three' review or a smiley face would have made my entire week so much brighter. Knowing that people still pay attention to these stories means the world to me. Literally. So, if you're part of those people who have scanned through a chapter out of coincidence, or those who waits patiently for another one, I thank you all very much! Here. Take my virtual hugs!**

**On with the chapter. Enjoy! 'Cause that's what matters most. **

**oooooOooooo**

**Chapter 11**

After falling asleep on a dingy, dark corner, Dan has been on the run almost immediately. He felt like he has been running from Texas to Canada with Buffy hot on his heels. _Come to think of it, how is that crazy mutt?_ Dan shook his head, his dirty blonde hair flying in all directions as he willed his legs to go faster. He can't afford to be distracted over his best friend of a dog, no matter how much he owes Buffy for completing a job he's been trying to do: humiliating Ian Kabra until he declares the threat of suing. _"I'll sue the landscape architect!"_ Dan laughed for what it's worth and looked for other warehouses that happens to be abandoned and near a long array of pretty, blooming cherry blossoms. He deftly looked behind him to see if he was being followed and slowed into a jogged when he wasn't. Obviously, he was mistaken about the warehouse, but in his defense, that was the only abandoned warehouse in the vicinity.

He's completely lost now. He didn't even know this part of Japan existed! A part where everywhere are trees and weeds. No people. A handful of building that with just one huff of breath, would crumble to bits and pieces. Dan let out a long, huge whine as he hit his forehead repeatedly with his palm. "People just have to be complete –" Dan was cut off when he realized just what he had passed through. He jogged backwards, stopped and tilted his head to the right. There, on top of an abandoned, scary-looking-to-the-point-of-haunted warehouse, is a cobwebbed sign written in hiragana. Thank goodness, because Dan really didn't bother with all the kanji. It was way too hard and hard work is Amy's job. _Sa-ku-ra Ya-shi-ro._

"Yashiro?" Dan asked, his face crinkling in concentration. That sounded familiar, but all that's registering is a blurry anime dude. "The freak does that – Oh!"

Sakura Company. Cherry blossom.

It didn't make much sense, but the pieces seemed correct, so what the heck. "Well, that solves it!" Dan, with more caution than last time, twisted the (unsurprisingly) unlocked doorknob. He looked around the dimly lit warehouse and entered with the lightest of footsteps. "Helping Hand?" Nobody's home. _Don't tell me, I'm in the wrong place again!_ Dan groaned, glaring at the dark room without bothering to step inside. He'd have enough disappointment in this place. Now all he has to do is use whatever Japanese he knows to ask directions. "Yeah... That's not gonna work out pretty good," he told himself disgustedly, remembering that all he knows of Japanese words are martial arts and food. Oh yeah, and anime. He doubts that asking about the Dugtrio would get him to find Natalie. He was about to slam the door back in place, probably send it swinging pathetically on its hinges when...

"You're very late."

**xxxOOOxxx**

A raven-haired teenage boy clad in a V-neck, dark blue sweater, greeted Dan at one of the rooms of the warehouse as he finally managed to barge past the freaking maze of corridors. Lying at a makeshift bed behind Raven Hair is none other than Natalie Kabra.

Dan panted, catching his breath before thinking of something smart to say. But the other guy beat him to it. "Where are the others?" Raven Hair asked, looking at the door with which Dan came in, probably expecting Jonah, Hamilton and Ian to come running next.

"They're... Not... Here," Dan said in between gulps of air. He coughed abruptly, slapping a dangling cobweb out of his hair. "Give her to me now." He pointed at the sleeping figure of the girl Kabra.

The black-haired boy regarded him expressionlessly. "A few pointers first, if you don't mind," he said blankly. Dan could only glare at him, but his muscles tensed, anticipating an attack. Raven Hair noticed this and said, "I'm not going to attack you. As I've said in all my messages, I'll give you back the girl... and the antidote you need for that blonde one."

"How do I know... you're not lying?" Dan asked, his breathing slowly returning to its normal pace. "How do I know you didn't send those... dudes to attack us?" He was referring to the men in black wannabes and those biker dudes from a little while ago.

Raven Hair's dark eyes steeled for a moment. "There were attackers?" he murmured to himself. His fingers fidgeted in a quick manner, as if they were agitated and they should be doing something, while his face betrayed nothing. "Nobody was supposed to know they were here."

Dan rolled his eyes, not believing his absent-minded monologue. "Sure, sure. Just give me Nat back 'cause I'm at a deadline with her murderous brother and you do not want to miss a deadline with that Cobra," Dan informed him, remembering that time when he forgot to do his assignment for the Lucian classes. He seriously thought Ian's head would pop right out of his head.

Raven hair glanced behind him at Natalie. A flicker of something – probably wistfulness – passed by those emotionless eyes. "I think she'll be just fine with you guys," he told Dan finally. Then, he smirked – the first direct expression he'd shown so far. "After all, you Cahills are famous for your TLCs."

Dan grimaced. "I know you didn't mean the sandwich," he said.

The other guy glared at him, clearly not amused. "Of course not. Look, Cahill, you should be grateful that little girl got out in time," he told Dan seriously, all of the previous and somewhat, scarce humour he had awhile back now gone. "She's in a worse shape than that blonde one as it is."

"What do you mean?" Dan glanced at Natalie's direction immediately.

"You'll find out when she wakes up," the guy said dismissively. "Also, that Hollywood dude's girlfriend's antidote is the poison running through her veins right now."

Dan straightened at that. "You mean, Nat's poisoned right now?" he yelled, suddenly ticked off by Raven Hair's calm attitude.

Raven Hair looked at him laughingly. "The poison has already taken effect, but your little princess won't die," he assured him. "There's no antidote for her, either. Just... therapy of some kind, I guess." He shrugged nonchalantly.

"She's not my little princess," Dan grumbled, wanting so bad to throw his worn-out sneakers at this jerk. "She's her older brother's princess. So, our Cahill TLC will make the effects of whatever sadistic poison you idiots put in her go away."

"Eventually," Raven Hair agreed with a grin.

Dan clenched his hands to fists. "And the antidote for your other victim is in her blood?"

Raven Hair nodded. "Just take some samples from her, have your family's geniuses do the magic trick." He waved a hand offhandedly. "Don't worry. It's so easy even I could do it."

"Is that all you're going to say?" Dan asked grumpily.

"Not quite," he replied, holding out a finger. "You do know that all of this help does not come for free, right?"

Dan glared at him, fuming. "I know. You're far too evil to give away free stuff."

"I'm not doing this for you," Raven Hair said bluntly. Dan said nothing so he continued. "There is someone I need you guys to look after until that person's mission is done and over with."

Dan narrowed his eyes suspiciously. "Who?"

"You'll know when you see her."

"Huh. You're sister, then?" Dan asked, bouncing on the balls of his feet.

Raven Hair did not respond for a long moment. "You're not the only ones who hold on tightly to your family ties," was all he said. Dan caught a quick saddened look that flashed in the guy's eyes. Suddenly, Raven Hair turned his back to him and started walking away. "Take her now," he called out, his hands stiffed inside his pockets. "And don't let people important to you out of your reach again."

Dan watched as he disappeared behind the back door of the warehouse and picked Natalie up.

As he walked outside, determined to get to the nearest train station as fast as he could, Natalie began to stir in his arms. Dan sighed in annoyance. "You're a lot of trouble than your worth, ya know that, Cobra," he griped before she could even open her eyes. Natalie flinched at the sound of his voice and her amber eyes flew wide open. Dan raised his eyebrows at her, prepared to take her snappy, British-accented comeback head-on. Natalie blinked twice as she looked back directly in his eyes.

Then, she spoke. "Who... Are you?" she asked Dan in a tone of voice that didn't belong to the coffee-skinned girl who is willing to yell her lungs off to get him to shut up.

Dan processed that for a moment because the snapping wasn't there, the poison-laced insults were missing and the skin-stinging slaps never happened. His eyes widened and then, he cursed under his breath. "Your brother is going to kill me," he muttered sullenly.

Jonathan pushed his raven black locks out of his eyes as he listened in on the young, pitiful Cahills. He let out a low, hard chuckle, realizing that the Cahills may not just be the only pitiful human beings at the moment.

**oooooOooooo**

**Aww... Jonathan, just what have you got in store for us? Oh gods, Ian is going to kill Dan... or not. 'Cause he can't do that. Just yet. Oh and yeah, I may or may not regularly place sneak peeks of the next chapter from here on out. Haha. **

**QUESTION of the DAY:**

**Sometimes I feel like I'm way too random for my own good. What do you guys feel like sometimes? (Copy and Paste at its best XD) Oh and who's waiting for The Mark of Athena as much as I am? And do any of you guys know when's the release date for the Kindle version of Shatterproof? Hihi. **

**SNEAK PEEK FOR CHAPTER 12:**

"Sounds like something a Holt would say," Evan confided to Jake.

Jake sniffed. "I wonder why that is," he drawled sarcastically. Evan raised his eyebrows at this comment. Jake shrugged. "Holt's already ten steps ahead of me. Who would've thought?" he explained with a tone of disbelief. He looked at Evan like the latter had better cards than his. "Be thankful Kabra's not so quick."

Evan yawned and stretched his arms over his head before sauntering over to the girls. Before he could walk another step however, he told Jake, "I wouldn't say he's not. He moves slow, but digs deep."

**Were there any errors I missed (oh and thank you **clara0414! I've finally edited the errors you pointed out in Fabula Secunda and in this story as well!**), things I've confused you with, or randomness at its worst?**

**Read, Re-read and Review (or not... haha.)? Smiley faces anyone? **

**Much Love, Peace Out. **

**AngelicSpring.**


	13. The Twelfth Chapter

**Okay, so there is a HUGE reason why I updated early. Are you ready? **

**I have read The Mark of Athena. **

**And if you, my dear The Start of Pain reader, haven't heard of The Mark of Athena and/or The Percy Jackson and the Olympians series and/or The Heroes of Olympus, this is my advice: Go to the nearest freaking bookstore right now and buy them. ASAFreakingP. **

**Anyways, for five straight hours I've been in Mr Rick the most awesome author Riordan's world and when I came back to reality all I could think was:**

**BEST EIGHT POUNDS I HAVE EVER SPENT.**

**And then, I realized that I have to wait another year (or less than) for the next book to come. Another thought crossed my mind:**

**LET ME HIBERNATE, LET ME HIBERNATE UNTIL THE NEXT BOOK COMES. **

***lets out a long, slow breath to calm herself down* I am so sorry for the amazing fan-girl moment, but you see, Rick Riordan is the reason why I'm on the 39 Clues archive in the first place. If he hadn't written the first book, The Maze of Bones, I wouldn't even dare buy the thin, hardbound book which had a rather high pricing for my liking. So yeah. He's my role model and reading a book of his inspires me to write. **

**That was another fangirl rant, wasn't it? **

**Before I could say more about my obsession with Rick Riordan's epic writing, I will now thank my awesome reviewers. Seriously, guys. TEN freaking reviews in less than a week?! All of you never cease to amaze me and fill my heart with lots of love and all that mushy stuff. Honestly. Thank you, **beachbum999 (here it is XD), addicted2reading9 (have you freaking read it?! Oh my freaking gods!), Shimmering Icicles (I hope I'll get to explain everything by the end. And by the end, I mean the next chapter. Haha. Oh gods, that sounded like the ending of the story will be in the next chapter. Excuse my ADHD), magicdemi-god223 (Ohohoho. The next chapter shall explain. Hopefully.), emmelinekat (you made me cry! Waah! I can't believe that I'm actually successful in showing the characters – especially the OCs – the way I wanted them to be. Thank you so much! I know, right? Why can't quadratic equations factorise themselves if it was so important?!), ILuvHamiltonHolt (I know! Have you freaking read it?!) clara0414 (oh my gods! I missed that much? Thank you for pointing all of those out. Seriously. What would I do without you? XD Ugh, tenses. It's always the tenses, huh? And I am a hardcore Hamilton/Sinead shipper. I just want Hamilton to have a little bit of competition. LOL. Thank you for the luck!) and NatalieKFan (here it is XD)**. **

**Nearly a whole page on Word for just the AN?! What is wrong with me?**

**On with chapter. Enjoy 'cause that's what matters most. **

**oooooOooooo**

**Chapter 12**

"This is it," Sinead declared. She gestured at the closed door with a black square on its side. Written on plain white font on the dark square is the room number: 203. "This was Uncle Alistair's room."

Amy frowned at the normal-looking door. "All or nothing, then," she heaved the surprisingly heavy door open. It groaned under the force and as it swung wide enough for each of them to sneak inside, they saw what was making it heavy. Somebody had done a fairly poor job of barring the door with scrap metal rods a half-inch thick and a feet long, crisscrossing from top to bottom. They were hastily taped with a heavy duty, black tape and the groaning sound from awhile ago was from some of these rods rubbing against each other and on the wall.

"Well, that was useless," Evan noted drily, looking at the metal rods with disdain.

Jake ran his hand over one. "Either they don't think anybody would dare break in or they just simply couldn't care less," he said.

"Let's get to work, people. Chop, chop," Sinead ordered, caring less about the idiocy of the people who supposed to keep the room locked and clapping her hands together. "Up march!" With that, she and Amy went to work, and tried to heave the surprisingly heavy mattress up. There were groans and grunts from their end.

"Sounds like something a Holt would say," Evan confided to Jake.

Jake sniffed. "I wonder why that is," he drawled sarcastically. Evan raised his eyebrows at this comment. Jake shrugged. "Holt's already ten steps ahead of me. Who would've thought?" he explained with a tone of disbelief. He looked at Evan like the latter had better cards than his. "Be thankful Kabra's not so quick."

Evan yawned and stretched his arms over his head before sauntering over to the girls. Before he could walk another step however, he told Jake, "I wouldn't say he's not. He moves slow, but digs deep." Then, he pushed his sleeves up his arms and went over to help heave the mattress up.

Jake rolled his eyes because of the strange wording and the useless help Evan's offering.

**xxxOOOxxx**

The Russian security of The Hospital turned out to be multi-lingual. They've been shouting obscenities at Victoria in Russian, German, Mandarin and of course, English. The words they used are hugely in contrast with their neat uniforms.

And all that are getting on Victoria's nerves.

She could kill them now in less than five seconds from where she stood amongst the shadows. There were nine of them in the room and completely brainless. You should never lock the room where you suspect the infiltrator is hiding. That's exactly what these morons did. Obviously, these nincompoops are underestimating her. She smirked, flicking her wrist and then three, thin, menacingly sharp blades with wooden, cylindrical handles (almost like ice picks) slid down. She winced almost imperceptibly and cursed violently in her head when she remembered that one of the security crossbows on one of the entrances barely missed her arm. Victoria just hoped that those filthy Cahills know a good opportunity when they see one. Otherwise, her minute shedding of blood gains no advantage.

"Are you sure she went in here?" one of the idiots growled.

The other one must have nodded.

"You'd better be. Or else," the first guy threatened.

Victoria could hear the second guy swallow nervously. She rolled her eyes and shook her head sadly. _So sad_, she thought as she stealthily moved along the shadows. _Wasting human resources this way._ She's now a breath away from three of the guards. Without a moment's hesitation, she plunged one of her ice pick-like weapons on each of their jugular. No screams – which is the mode of killing she specializes in – and just as their bodies fell on the floor with a thud, the other six followed their friends to the grave.

Soundless. Almost painless.

Merciless.

Victoria looked down at her masterpiece. Nine, full-grown men at her feet, eyes wide open but not seeing anything. Dead as a doornail. The skills of a murderer. But the Vespers had a prettier name. Assassins. They were assassins. Trained.

She slammed against the wall, suddenly feeling another wave of memories flood her.

"_I am so excited!" Alex exclaimed, bouncing up and down. I tried to catch his hand because Mrs. Kudryashov said we're supposed to be with our partners, so that we won't get lost. "I'm so excited, I'm so excited, I'm so excited!" He keeps on squealing and squealing and jumping up and down. _

"_Alex, you're s'posed to hold my hand!" I complained, stomping my foot on the ground as hard as I could. _

_Alex looked at me. "Oopsies. Sorry, Vicky!" He quickly took my hand and began swinging our entwined fingers forwards and backwards. "I'm just really excited. We're gonna see a play! Aren't you excited?"_

_I nodded, smiling widely because Alex was smiling his really big smile. He really, really likes seeing plays, almost as much as I want chocolate-covered nougats. "Yep. Do you know that we're seeing that one about the mo..."_

_I can see Alex nodding enthusiastically at whatever I said, his lips moving into an eager response. _

The white-hot searing pain erupted from where the dart had hit her earlier when she opened the door. She doubled over in pain and as spots filled her vision, she saw one of the guards she believed was dead, smirking his last at her. _Was she losing her touch? How was he alive? _ She didn't know whether that thought was alarming, or comforting. Victoria felt a strong wave nausea as she saw a gaping hole in her upper arm, right where the dart hit home. She tried to swallow what she thought was bile. Blood gushed out of her wound and mouth.

They both fell into the deep abyss of unconsciousness; one, destined to never wake up again.

**xxxOOOxxx**

Natalie Kabra looked up from what this boy calls a _taiyaki_. It's bread shaped like a fish – she remembers that animal; funny, swimming, wriggling creatures – with warm chocolate inside. She remembers that sweet and brown thing, too. She remembers eating a huge Cadbury bar, waddling with her chubby toddler legs while trying to catch up with the lady in the red dress and very high heels, She knows that's Isabel, her mom. She remembers that annoyed grunt from her older brother because she keeps on getting the sweet, brown thing around her mouth and he says it's very poor people-ish.

The problem is... Who is her brother?

Dan is finishing his third taiyaki when he caught Natalie's worried and slightly troubled expression. Her lips are pursed tightly to the side and her eyebrows just as tightly scrunched. "What's wrong with you? That's clean, ya know?" Natalie might have lost her memory, but seriously, she's as much a clean-freak as before.

Natalie flinched from his voice. Which, at first, Dan thought was hilarious because no way in Olivia's name is the old Natalie Kabra gonna flinch over something as petty as somebody's voice. She might have shot him dead, but no flinching.

"Look, Nat –" Dan waited for the huge smack on the head even though he knows it won't come from this version of Natalie. "We really need to get going in about five minutes because your brother – the one with the black hair, not the brown hair 'cause that last one is the devil's spawn – will kill me if we're one second late."

"Why would he kill you?" Natalie breathed the word as if it was poison in her tongue.

Dan rolled his eyes exasperatedly. "It's an expression," he said drily. He waved his hand dismissively. "Just finish your snack, 'kay?"

Natalie gave her taiyaki a small nibble. "And you are?" she asked.

"I thought we already went over this," Dan said exasperatedly. He rolled his eyes to the sky. "I'm Dan Cahill. I'm a Madrigal while you're a –"

"I know that," Natalie insisted. Dan waited for the superior flipping of hair. Nothing. "You're my what?"she cleared.

Dan choked on his can of soda, spurting the fizzy stuff out of his mouth like fireworks. "Whoa! Whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa!" he exclaimed, waving his hands wildly in front of him. Natalie backed away from him, looking even more afraid with his actions. "Whoa! Let's get one more important thing straight around here. I am not yours, okay?" He shuddered violently at the thought. "Ugh, that sounded downright gross."

Natalie blushed – which again, should never have happened – at the huge misunderstanding. "But, th-that's not what I-I meant..." she protested weakly, tears forming in her eyes.

Dan slammed his face in his palms. "Oh, gods. Stop that. Just don't. Ian Cobra will kill me if I so much as glared at you." Natalie sniffled sadly in response.

This was going to be a long day.

And Dan's only thinking of the five-minute train ride to Tokyo.

**xxxOOOxxx**

Ian's foot won't stop tapping the floor and frankly, it was getting increasingly annoying. Hamilton counted a total of eighty-six taps on his right before he changed to his left. Hamilton is this close to hitting the back of Ian's head. Hard. Jonah breathed a huge sigh of impatience. Why does the time seem to be longer when you're waiting for something? He could have sworn only two minutes has passed, but it feels as though a good hour has gone.

"There they are!"

Jonah, Hamilton and Ian snapped up to that all-too-familiar, obnoxious yelling and followed the sound of it. Ian tore through the throngs of crowd around the Tokyo Tower. There! Dirty blonde hair. Ian hastily pushed against people and shoved. They found Dan as he pushed his way against people, too, mumbling 'sorry's and 'excuse me's as he went past them and towing Natalie with him. And when we say, towing, we mean literally towing.

As in hand-in-hand contact.

Ian stooped short.

And stared.

As Dan stopped in front of the group, slightly gasping for breath, Natalie quickly hid behind him, tightening the grip she has on his hand and putting the other hand on his shoulder.

Which made Ian glare.

Dan, bless his soul, caught on with Ian's glowering expression which was close to what he hoped he wouldn't see, but so different with what he thought Ian would be wearing when he sees Natalie safe. "This," he held their entwined fingers, "isn't exactly what you might think it looks like." Ian looked severely unconvinced. Dan held up his hands in surrender. "I didn't do anything!" he exclaimed, glancing behind him quickly. "When she woke up, she didn't know who I was and became that!" He shrugged his shoulders, indicating the clinging girl behind him.

"Oh boy..." Hamilton muttered. "What are we going to do?"

But Dan wasn't listening. Natalie was frantically whispering something in his ear. "Oh and she thinks you're out to kill her," Dan added, pointing at a speechless Ian Kabra.

Ian's feet absently brought him closer to the younger two. "Natalie?" he whispered gently.

There was a whimper as Natalie tugged Dan's sleeves. Hamilton and Jonah looked at each other helplessly.

"I'm not going to hurt you," Ian continued in a voice that he's never, ever used before. "I promise, see?" He held his empty hands up.

After a long, heartbreaking moment, Natalie slowly looked up. Identical amber eyes met. "You look like my brother," she croaked, her grip on Dan's shoulders never loosening.

Ian felt a growing lump in his throat. He swallowed at it. "I am your brother," he whispered, trying to keep his voice steady.

Natalie shook his head, waves of dark black hair falling gently. "No... My brother has brown hair," she told him innocently.

Ian didn't respond. He didn't say anything for a long time. Dan noticed that his poker face is nearly breaking. "Hey, uh, Nat. Uh, remember the bad guy I was talking about?" Natalie hesitantly nodded. "Yeah, well, the brown-haired one is the baddie, okay? This one's the real deal."

Ian seemed to be carved out of smooth marble. He didn't move; just looked at Natalie as if she was a puzzle piece and he couldn't figure which puzzle she was supposed to be. He looked just as lost as Natalie is.

"Oh, wow, look at the time," Hamilton said loudly, flicking his watch-less wrist and minutely glancing at it. Jonah sighed, pitying this weak display of changing the subject. "I'm very, very hungry. I say, we go it eat? Sounds like a plan? Yep, let's go."

Ian stood up, as flawlessly as ever which was disturbing, and was actually the first one to walk away. Dan followed after him with Natalie still tightly gripping his shoulders. Jonah shot Hamilton a dirty look. "Look, Hammer. I completely get how you want to ease the tension, but acting and you just don't mix, 'kay?" And he followed after Dan.

Hamilton frowned. "This is why I don't like breaking awkwardness."

**oooooOooooo**

**Acting and Tomases don't mix? Who begs to differ? Any proud Tomas actors out there? XD **

**Okay, so spoiler alert for the next chapter. It would have a lot of Psychology thingy in it especially because my AS Psychology is amazing and just so... philosophical. Haha. I wanted to share it with you guys, so that my story wouldn't just be random plot twists. I hope you'd learn something from me at least. Haha. Mostly Science. 'Cause I hate Maths. Speaking of Maths, I just took this assessment exam to know whether I deserve to stay on the course or not. So, guys, please wish me luck. The results will come on Monday. Haha. As much as I find the subject difficult, I need it. A lot. **

**Moving on, I am pretty sure I have lots of mistakes again. Even though I really, really do my best spotting them when I read, re-read and re-read what I re-read every chapter I post. But, oh well. Haha.**

**SNEAK PEEK FOR CHAPTER 13:**

Sinead huffed an aggravated breath out. "Gods, he makes me so infuriated! I can't believe I actually have him on my speed dial!" She glared at her phone, looking as if she was about to fling it out of sight. Down that filthy lake yards away from them, preferably.

Amy glanced at Jake and Evan, knowing that Sinead hadn't at the least bit heard her question. "Does that mean they're coming?" she asked them.

Jake snorted. "If it's beauty queen who asked Holt, I'm sure he's on a plane right about now."

Sinead heard that. "I cannot believe you made me call him," she accused flatly, like they just made her drink out of the toilet.

"And I can't believe a Tomas and an Ekat would actually date, much less get along."

**Read, re-read and review?**

**Much Love, Peace Out!**

**Have a nice week everybody, **

**AngelicSpring**


	14. The Thirteenth Chapter

**AngelicSpring cannot believe how hectic the last few weeks of half term was. **

**Geddit? First line of The Start of Pain? **

**Guess not. **

**Anyhoo, I am finally updating because we have a one-week break from school! If you ask me, that is way too little time to compensate for all those times spent in learning about ventilation, attachment, bonding and surds. So yeah. And it's Halloween! Happy Halloween, everybody! Or am I tad late at the greeting?**

**Thank you, amazing people of the 39 Clues fandom! Long live The 39 Clues fandom! XD Thank you so much, **Shimmering Icicles (Yes, she is, actually. Remember Hamilton's weapon she made? XD I made her like it, I dunno why. Haha. Sorry 'bout that.), magicdemi-god223 (fellow fangirl? One, two, three... *fangirl squeal*), addicted2reading9 (run, my Natan friend. Just run – before he sees you), emmelinekat (haha. I don't know actually. Thank you for saying that though. I'm sure they are still there. People would stick with you amazing person! I know I would!), NatalieKFan (don't I know it! It's going to get worse for Dan... and some other people actually.) and J.L (I see. XD Is King Arthur real? So is Merlin? Or are all those fictional? Thanks for the information!)

**Now you know why Ian hates me so much. Natan is just so... irresistible. If I suddenly 'go missing', you know who to blame. I'm not saying any names but here's a clue: it starts with Ian and ends with Kabra. **

**Oh yeah. In case anybody forgot, I don't own The 39 Clues and I really don't I ever will. Haha. **

**Read on, my amazing friends. Read on. Enjoy, 'cause that's what matters most!**

**oooooOooooo**

**Chapter 13**

Dan handed Natalie a piece of sashimi wedged in between two chopsticks which the girl took gratefully. Apparently, using chopsticks and walking inside a Japanese restaurant is very new to her as well.

Ian expressionlessly fumed as this routine of theirs continued for another minute or so.

Jonah frowned. "I'm sorry, but this is gonna sound selfish, but seeing as how I-dawg isn't about to say something just yet, I'll just start, 'kay?" Dan nodded with his mouth full. Natalie watched him with polite confusion like she was sure stuffing food in your mouth was wrong, but she wasn't so sure. Jonah gave her a funny look. "See, the antidote for Ange is actually inside Nat...alie," Jonah added slowly, remembering how Natalie hated being called Nat. Natalie didn't even bat an eyelid.

Dan nodded.

Hamilton whistled. "Whew. This is actually messing up my appetite. I was pretty sure I'd finish more than two bowls, but can't even get through the first one!" He chuckled good-naturedly. "Oops –" he fished his vibrating phone out of his jeans pocket, "gotta take – Whoa." He quickly pressed the ACCEPT button. "Sinead? What's wrong? No, of course, I know something's wrong. Why? 'Cause you're _calling me_. No, I didn't mean that. Look, are we seriously going to argue about this now?"

Dan looked at Jonah with raised eyebrows which Jonah returned with an 'I-don't-know' shrug. Ian looked mildly interested. Natalie, unsurprisingly, looked confused and lost.

"Look, Sinead. Sinead – No, I'm listening but – Sinead -? Hey... Oh my Thomas, Sinead! Would you let me finish?" Hamilton briskly and quite harshly rubbed his face with his palm, the way he always did when he's agitated and/or annoyed. Or, as for this case, a little of both. "What is going on? Yeah. As in right now." Hamilton listened for a few seconds. He suddenly jumped up from his seat as if the cushion caught fire and erupted with spikes.

Before Dan and the others know what was happening, he was out of the restaurant.

**xxxOOOxxx**

"What'd he say?" Amy asked. "I mean, aside from the fact that you were arguing again."

Sinead huffed an aggravated breath out. "Gods, he makes me so infuriated! I can't believe I actually have him on my speed dial!" She glared at her phone, looking as if she was about to fling it out of sight. Down that filthy lake yards away from them, preferably.

Amy glanced at Jake and Evan, knowing that Sinead hadn't at the least bit heard her question. "Does that mean they're coming?" she asked them.

Jake snorted. "If it's beauty queen who asked Holt, I'm sure he's on a plane right about now."

Sinead heard that. "I cannot believe you made me call him," she accused flatly, like they just made her drink out of the toilet.

"And I can't believe a Tomas and an Ekat would actually date, much less get along."

Sinead snapped up at that. Okay. So, as much as it wounds her pride to call Hamilton for help, that subject was kind of a touchy thing. "People change," she said stiffly.

Victoria chuckled bitterly, clutching her arm tighter to her chest. "Touchy, touchy. Did I hit a nerve?"

Sinead glowered at her. "Look. I know you're nearly dying, but I wouldn't hesitate kicking you hard." Victoria merely shot her a toothy grin like she actually wanted to see her try.

Amy rubbed her temples. "We can't do anything right now because the whole of the Vespers' treasured task force is hot on our heels and half of the Interpol is working for them. So would you please try to stay alive before they could actually arrive?" she pleaded, looking at Sinead imploringly.

Sinead gave her an annoyed look, but stiffly nodded anyway.

"Thank you," Amy said sincerely.

Evan pushed his glasses further up his nose. "I wonder, if they got Natalie safely back," he mused.

"Huh. I didn't hear any bickering in the background," Sinead noted, "which should have been a constant especially with Dan and Natalie in the same building."

Amy bit her lip. "Maybe Natalie's asleep or something," she suggested.

"Or, maybe Ian had their mouths duct-taped," Jake chimed indifferently.

All of them fell silent as they pondered on that statement and its possibility. Then, out of the blue, they burst out laughing. Victoria frowned at all of them. "Ugh, Cahills are so weird," she groaned, slumping her head back on the filthy tree trunk.

**xxxOOOxxx**

Alistair calmly sipped his tea as he watched Hamilton pace back and forth. "You're going to have a hard time when turbulence comes, you know," he confided. Hamilton pretended not to hear him.

"Oh, let him fall flat on his butt. That'll wake up his senses," Jonah said dismissively, flipping through a celebrity magazine. His eyes widened at a particular article. "They broke up again? No surprise there." He clucked his tongue in disapproval.

Alistair raised an eyebrow at this, but said nothing.

"Amy is so stupid," Dan muttered. He clasped his hands to his chest and fluttered his eyelids. "'Oh, that poor Vesper girl who tried to murder all of us in one go. Oh, Sinead, why don't we help her out?'" he said in a high-pitched voice, obviously to sound like Amy. Natalie giggled.

Natalie _giggled_.

It was as if that one action pushed the pause button and the world rotated much, much slower than before. Jonah dropped his magazine to his lap. Hamilton stopped pacing. Ian just sighed like a doctor who was faced with a disease he can never cure and rested his forehead on his hand. Alistair looked amused since he had heard the whole story three minutes ago, especially the part about Natalie being so un-Natalie. But, seeing everything in person is really something. For example, Natalie willingly sitting beside Dan, or eating airplane food even the nuts in the cute little packaging, or wearing the same outfit she had on for the last six hours, or most importantly, not calling Dan Daniel. It was all so disorienting.

Dan seemed unfazed however. He glanced at Natalie. "Don't you think my sister's the biggest idiot in the world?" he asked.

"I think she's nice," Natalie said honestly.

Jonah unbuckled his seatbelt and stood up, his hands held up in a defensive position. "Okay, I can't take this. That," he pointed at Natalie, "will require heaps of time for me to get used to it. And actually adapt." He strode of to the lavatory of Alistair's private jet.

"So, Natalie, my dear girl," Alistair started. Ian shot him a warning look which Alistair ignored. Ignoring people is turning into a habit with the Cahills, actually. Natalie wrinkled her nose uncomfortably before looking at him. The only person she trusts at the moment is Dan, and she has no plans whatsoever on trusting other people in the nearest future. "How are you feeling?"

Natalie pursed her lips, considering the question. "I'm fine, thank you," she said in a measured tone, careful not to say the wrong things.

"How much of your, ah, old life do you remember, exactly?" Alistair's eyes twinkled with some unknown motif.

Natalie looked at Dan apprehensively which he returned with a 'go-on-and-speak' nod. "Well... My mother is Isabel," she said thoughtfully. "My father is..." Ian listened intently and Hamilton did the same. "I'm sorry. I don't know," Natalie sighed helplessly.

"How come she could only remember Isabel?" Jonah asked Alistair, walking back towards his seat. He knows that somehow an Ekat-worthy science is behind this. "How did they manage to erase a part of her memory and replace it with minimal information?" Jonah paused, looking disbelievingly at his hands. "Whoa! Did somebody just write down what I said? 'Cause that sounded really _smart_!"

Alistair took in a deep breath, setting his tea down and placing both his hands on top of his cane. "Well, I must say, this is an ingenious experiment the Vespers had concocted. Not that I'm saying it's good," Alistair said quickly when he noticed Ian's look of murder. "But, in terms of psychological discoveries, this is certainly a breakthrough. Do any of you know about the Multi-store Model of the Memory?"

Ian merely raised an eyebrow in agreement. He did remember studying that in his advanced, home-schooled Psychology GCSE. Hamilton, however, stopped with his pacing and glanced at the old Korean dude attentively. "I know that chiz!" he exclaimed, tapping his forehead with two fingers. "The one where there are three stages in the memory. Like, first one is sensory, next is short-term and the last is long-term." Jonah and the others looked at him with their jaw dropped as far as they would go, completely dumbfounded. Ian chuckled lightly at the turn of events. Hamilton returned their looks of incredulity with a shrug. "Why don't you try dating an Ekat and go on dates on science conventions?"

"TMI," Jonah replied disgustedly.

Alistair found it funny. "Yes, well, the Vespers might have used that belief to alter Natalie's long-term memory."

"And since her short-term memory is working just fine," Ian continued, now seeing the situation as his mind raced for the possibilities of returning Natalie's memory. "They used that to get new information in her long-term by rehearsing new memories in her short-term until they get successfully transferred."

"Correct," Alistair nodded seriously. "They just proved the importance of repeating information to be successfully recalled later on. They also proved that the memory is actually made up of parts and you could damage one part without damaging the others."

Ian perked up, remembering something he nearly got wrong (but, of course, he didn't) on the module. "But, that's one of the biggest flaws of the multi-store model. Rehearsal isn't exactly the only and most important method to get information stored into the long-term memory. Like, when you keep on reading your notes and you can't remember anything in the end, compared to when you're reading a magazine and you remember every gossip. It doesn't completely work that way," he argued, speaking so quickly that Alistair was the only one who understood what he was saying.

Alistair's face darkened. "Unless...?" he prodded, waiting for Ian to understand what he means.

"Unless?" Ian thought about that for a moment, feeling as though he was back in Mr Felth's study. It was like being quizzed under the scrutinizing eyes of his tutor. "Unless, the information was semantic – that is, highly meaningful or relevant to the person." Ian shot Natalie a shocked look which Natalie returned with a wide-eyed look of bewilderment. "They confused Natalie, so that she was utterly left in the dark about who she really was, and they pretended to be the small light. Naturally, she would follow that thoughtlessly."

"A rather poetic summarisation of what they could have done, but yes," Alistair said sadly. "I believe that's we can deduce at the moment."

Hamilton pursed his lips thoughtfully. "Let me get this right. They injected something in Natalie that made her lose her memories – as in completely – and when she finally did forget everything, they replaced them with whatever it is she remembers now –"

"Like, Satan's spawn being her older brother instead of Cobra here," Dan suggested. Ian glowered at the little punk. Dan shrugged good-naturedly.

Hamilton nodded. "Yeah, sure. They replaced her memories by repeating those lies to her until she remembers them instead." He looked at Ian and Alistair. "At least that's how I understood it."

"So, what does that tell us about helping Natalie?" Jonah asked, seeing nothing helpful about the whole psychology talk. Seriously, he feels as though his brain is going to blow up or something.

Ian's eyes gleamed, but not the very dangerous kind. "It means that if we could reverse whatever method they did, we could restore Natalie's memories," he explained, biting his lip.

Dan whistled. "Wow, that sounds like a lot of work," he told them. "That raven-haired dude told me TLC should be enough."

Ian looked fiercely at the younger kid, his fingers clenched into fists. He looked as though he was ready to beat the living daylights out of Dan which is actually what he was thinking at the moment along with a few choice words. "I'm hoping that isn't going to come from you," he growled.

Jonah and Hamilton snickered at the thought.

Dan narrowed his eyes at them. "Will you stop thinking those kinds of things? It's disturbing and most of all, gross," he shuddered. "And where's my thanks? I got her back and I get you wanting to kill me every second you get. You're welcome," he said sarcastically.

Ian breathed a slow breath in as if he was doing yoga, or counting to ten. "Do you want me to contact Molly because I'm not even afraid to go there," he snapped grumpily.

Dan ignored the flush of warmth that spread from his neck up to his cheeks. He could still remember the horrible and relentless teasing he got from that one little letter. "I don't know what you're talking about," he said lamely. Natalie watched his expressions with deep curiosity.

"Ha!" Hamilton exclaimed, making all of them jump. "I remember that Molly person. Quite the persistent little girl, wasn't she?"

Jonah looked confused. "Was that the curly, red-head with the freckles and the braces?" he clarified.

"Nooo," Hamilton said slowly. "That's Erica. Molly's the blonde one with the flowery clothes." Hamilton mimed a long, flowing dress.

"Oh yeah!" Jonah slammed his fist to his palm. "Now, I remember! The chick who shows up every day because she 'needs help with Math'." Jonah made quotation marks in the air.

Dan shot all of them a nasty look. "In her defense," he cut in pointedly. "She did need help with Math."

Ian rolled his eyes. "Only an idiot would fall for that," he muttered.

"Thankfully, you are one," Dan retorted, crossing his arms over his chest.

"That's not even what I –" Ian sighed heavily. "I give up. Just mind your own business, Daniel. One false move and I swear, nobody will keep me from strangling the life out of you." He looked really serious that nobody even tried to reason with him.

Hamilton was curious, though. "Not even Amy?" he clarified. Ian shot him a silencing look. Hamilton held up his hands in surrender with a mouthed 'okay'.

**oooooOooooo**

**Okay... re-reading this whole thing again and hoping that I didn't miss any grammatical mistakes or gods forbid, any factual mistakes. We went through the MSM and I hoped I understood enough to actually apply it correctly here. Any Psychology majors? Please feel free to scold me about the things I got wrong. XD For the rest, feel free to ask me any questions that were vague in this chapter. Oh and yeah, I made the Erica girl up, so a huge hello to any Ericas out there! Molly is that girl who asked Dan to the dance. XD **

**So... I am kind of writing a non-fanfiction fiction (which is actually just fiction) and I want to be really serious about it. I **am** serious about it, but I guess I need sheer dedication. I hope you guys would cheer me on. **

**That's pretty much it. **

**You thought I forgot about the Sneak Peek, didn't you? XD Here it is:**

"Bummer," Jonathan commented drily, but he suddenly straightened at something Alex said. "But, wouldn't that be, 'The Council would have _your_ neck'?" he pointed at Alex confusedly.

Alex glared at him. "I swear to everything that I have... If the Council doesn't kill you, I will."

Jonathan cracked a smirk. "Looking forward to it." He gave Alex a two-finger mock salute and left the room. He whistled a happy tune as he made his way to his room. Getting Alex all riled up like that is just the sprinkles to his huge serving of plans.

**Please stay tuned, my amazing friends! XD**

**Much Love, Peace Out! Less Than Three!**

**AngelicSpring**


	15. The Fourteenth Chapter

**Oh my good gosh, you guys!**

**Guess what?**

**Okay, I imagined you said, 'What?' back.**

**This chapter is Chapter 14. Do you know what that means?! It means there are only SIX CHAPTERS left! Six freaking chapters and one epilogue! Oh gosh. I think I'm going to cry. Did you feel that, too? *drama alert***

**Huge thanks to these people who review so tirelessly, I consider them superheroes. That's right. Super Reviewers. Here. Have this really cool costume I made with the huge, emblazoned logo SR on it. Yay! Thank you very much: **magicdemi-god223 (Haha. That peaking-curiosity thing is really good. I'm glad it did, though. It's really hard for me to choose which passage/paragraph/part? Haha. I hope this is soon enough. I think this is the fastest update I have), addicted2reading9 (Hahaha. Don't let Jonah hear that. I'm pretty sure he's still feeling proud of himself. That does sound smart, though. Haha. Oh, TLC means tender loving care. That's why Ian said he hopes that TLC won't come from Dan. HAHAHAHA – Wait, I remember I'm still on probation for shipping Natan. Whoops) and emmelinekat (I don't know how you do it, but ever since you have always been one of the first reviewers. Thank you. Haha. So that's why! I was wondering why it said 'receiving' XD) **By the way, if **Shimmering Icicles** is reading this, I am so sorry. Somehow my AN got edited from 'I made her like it' to 'I made her so'. Sorry. I edited the previous AN. So yeah. XD**

**DISCLAIMER: I've been through two multi-chapters and I will never own The 39 Clues. **

**On with the story! Enjoy... 'cause that's what matters most. **

**oooooOooooo**

**Chapter 14**

Jonathan levelled his eyes at the younger kid. He could almost feel Alex's need to strangle him right now. He could actually imagine heat waves emanating from all around Alex.

"The kid was taken," Alex stated simply.

"Yep, that's what happened," Jonathan replied, just as plainly. He even pointed at a self-inflicted wound on his forehead which needed stitching, indicating that he had to get hurt before Natalie was taken. Which, of course, was not the case, but surely, Alex doesn't need to know that part.

Alex ran his tongue on the inside of his lower lip, studying Jonathan's aloof behaviour. "Would you mind telling me how exactly that happened?"

"Yes, actually. I would mind." Jonathan examined his fingers tiredly.

Alex slammed his hands on the desk, jumping up with a ferocious glare blazing in his eyes. He was done tolerating Jonathan's frustrating behaviour. "How could you let one little girl go?! Are you stupid?! The Council would have our necks!" he screamed at him.

"Bummer," Jonathan commented drily, but he suddenly straightened at something Alex said. "But, wouldn't that be, 'The Council would have _your_ neck'?" he pointed at Alex confusedly.

Alex glared at him. "I swear to everything that I have... If the Council doesn't kill you, I will."

Jonathan cracked a smirk. "Looking forward to it." He gave Alex a two-finger mock salute and left the room. He whistled a happy tune as he made his way to his room. Getting Alex all riled up like that is just the sprinkles to his huge serving of plans.

He jogged down the flights of stairs to his room. It was so sad that he had to throw – or more specifically, smash – away the phone he used to help Dan. That was brand new. But... oh well. He already did everything he could possibly do to help the situation improve. Now, the strings are out of his hands. He has nothing to manipulate this game anymore. _It's all up to the Cahills now_, Jonathan thought as he flopped down his bed. He chuckled as he thought about how alike he and his twin think. Maybe they do believe that Cahills are the saviour of the world.

**xxxOOOxxx**

"The least you could say is, 'thank you'," Hamilton reiterated, glaring at the back of Sinead's head. He's been implying that point ever since he came and Sinead just stuck her nose far up in the air.

"You're welcome," she replied promptly, not even turning around to look at him.

Hamilton rolled his eyes at Amy who shrugged apologetically at him. "She's exceptionally disagreeable today," she reassured him.

"Isn't she always?" he muttered.

Sinead pretended not to hear them and continued on stomping in front of the group. Hamilton volunteered to be the chauffeur who would lead Amy's group back to the jet – naturally – and it wasn't really appreciated by everybody. Jake and Evan stayed close behind, carrying the unconscious Victoria in a makeshift hammock. Sinead reached the jet first and harshly tugged at the door. It didn't budge. She tried again with much more force this time. Nothing.

Hamilton towered over her. "You need help?" he asked, having trouble keeping the amusement out of his voice.

"I –" _tug_, "can –" _pull_, "do it –" _tug, pull_, "no, thank you!" Sinead huffed, gripping the metal handle with both hands and heaving the door with as much strength this time.

Hamilton rolled his eyes. He placed a hand over both of hers and pulled at the door with one swift motion. The door opened almost immediately and Sinead could have sworn that it was smug to open when _he_ tried. Hamilton removed his hand and gestured at the open door. "Ladies first?" he said genially.

Sinead glared at him, 'accidentally' stepping on his foot as she boarded the jet. "Ow," Hamilton called out after her real sarcastically.

Amy placed a comforting arm on his shoulder. "Just..." she hesitated, not knowing exactly what to say, "let it go."

Hamilton rolled his eyes for the second time that day. Amy opted for a sad smile and went in after her best friend. He looked behind him to see Jake and Evan forming a vertical line to get inside the narrow door. "I'll carry it – her," Hamilton offered. He heard a loud mocking 'Ha!' coming from inside and resisted the urge to shout back at Sinead. Evan shot Jake a questioning look which the other returned with a shrug. "Thanks, man," Jake said, bumping fists with Hamilton before going inside. Evan gave Hamilton a little salute.

Hamilton stared long and hard at the unconscious body on the floor. He really does not know what went on in Amy's head when she thought of helping this girl out. He shook his head as he slung the girl over his shoulder.

"Careful! She's wounded!" Amy shouted as if he could see him carelessly handling the casualty.

"Oh sure," Hamilton drawled tiredly. "Boss the good Samaritan around and not a single thank you."

"You get used to it," Ian suddenly appeared on his side. "After some time." He disappeared back inside without even offering the help Hamilton was expecting.

Idiot.

**xxxOOOxxx**

If you think Natalie couldn't hide behind Dan as close as she could get, you thought wrong. She nearly disappeared behind him as she cowered at the sight of a wounded Victoria. "That's the girl who gave me the painful shots," she whispered in his ear frightfully.

Dan interpreted. "She said the bloody chick gave her the shot thingies which were painful," he said, pointing at the unconscious girl. Alistair tied the last bandage around her arm, trying to control the bleeding. "She looks really familiar though," he said to himself, his eyebrows scrunching in confusion.

"Amazing paraphrasing," Sinead commented lazily. She looked at Evan and Jake who were snoring their heads off in perfect symphony.

Ian glanced at Amy resignedly. "Do we really want to help her?" he asked her. They have already exchanged their stories (about the whole Japanese attacks, Ian sending Dan out alone, Dan meeting up with them in the Tokyo Tower, Amy and the group in the hospital, seeing Victoria and how she helped them) and reacted as if this was another bad day in the Cahill world... which technically, it was.

Amy looked unsure. "Victoria said she wasn't working with the Vespers anymore. She actually seem like she could help us," she explained.

"Oh, Amy. Stupid, innocent, dim-witted Amy," Dan commented. Amy made a face at him, but said nothing.

"She might know how to cure Natalie. That's a good thing, right? Makes our job a little bit easier," Sinead stated, snatching Hamilton's Lays away from him. She shook the bag. "Oh, good job, Hamilton! Didn't even leave a crumb?!"

Hamilton feigned a look of shock. "Oh I'm sorry. Did you want me to leave you some?" he asked innocently. Sinead threw the empty bag at his face which he merely slapped away while laughing. "I'm kidding," he said, shaking hard in laughter. "Here you go." He tossed her an unopened bag of Doritos.

Sinead caught it with both hands. "Tangy Cheese! Yay!" She opened the bag and was about to dig in when she remembered something. "Dip?"

Hamilton rummaged inside the plastic bag. "Here." He handed her the Hot Salsa dip.

Jonah nodded, finally understanding. "So that's why he bought Doritos," he told Ian, wagging his eyebrows meaningfully. "Told you he hated those things!"

"That is the most disgusting thing I have ever seen," Dan confirmed. He looked behind him. "What do you think, Nat?"

"I think it's sweet," Natalie said truthfully, smiling. Dan made a huge show of pretending to puke.

"Stop that!" Ian exclaimed irritably, involuntarily chucking a magazine right at Dan's face. "Stop being so casual and normal about it!" Dan let out an offended "Hey!"

"Ian, would you please stop throwing things at my brother?" Amy said exasperatedly.

Alistair nodded his head in agreement. "You never know when the instance would come where young Ian would be holding a knife instead of a magazine."

"Is that supposed to be a joke? 'Cause that could seriously happen," Hamilton commented.

Jonah laughed. "Oh please. Like he would even think of doing that while Am-" His eyes widened when he realized what he nearly said. He caught Ian's murderous look. "Am... A... A balloon... is, uh... is flying over the sky?"

Hamilton snorted. "Yeah. Sure. He's so much better at acting than I am," he said mordantly.

"Oh, like it's not obvious anyway," Sinead said frivolously, scooping as much dip with one chip as possible. "We all know the whole Amy-Ian issue. Anybody who doesn't would have to be dead."

"Ugh. Girly flicks' plot everywhere. Brace yourselves," Dan said, doing the Eddard Stark meme pose.

Victoria stirred in her sleep. Amy automatically shushed everybody which they returned with an _'are you serious?'_ look.

"No, need for the shushing," Victoria said, sitting up as if her wounds wouldn't open up from the effort. "I can hear you just fine from the start anyway."

"Of course you can," Ian said, rolling his eyes.

Victoria regarded him carefully. He really does look a lot like Alex. "Too bad you're not really related," she murmured.

Ian heard that. "Of course not. That monster could not be my brother whatsoever," he growled.

Victoria laughed without emotion. "When did you find out?"

"My useless uncle dropped hints here and there," Ian said nonchalantly. "How did _you_ find out?" He looked at her intently, his Lucian training waiting for any signs of lying.

"Why do you think I'm in Russia?" Victoria replied as if it was obvious. Ian looked more lost than before. "Oh. So you have no idea who he really is then? You haven't seen the connection yet?"

Ian shrugged. "Should I?"

Victoria flipped her shoulder-length hair. That one movement drained the blood from her lips and she looked as white as snow. "Guess not. Though it would probably amuse you to know that he is a Cahill as well," she said mysteriously, smirking because she knows Ian would never back down from that kind of information.

Alistair placed a hand on her shoulder. "I think we should tend those wounds before we delve into more details, eh, girl?"

Victoria stared up at him. "So, you really are alive," she remarked as if she was pleased by this news.

"No need to sound surprised," Alistair replied dismissively. He led her to a compartment, separated only by a thin cloth.

"Too bad Casper shared the same fate," Victoria laughed, although she sounds like people should take that as a threat.

**oooooOooooo**

**Why did I update early? I think I'd give all of us a good boost since half-term/mid-term/sembreak/whatever you call it is already drawing into a sad and unanticipated close. I still need to do some serious reading because we have a mock exam on the first week of December to prepare for the real January exams. And I am freaking out. Anyhoo, I hope I'd get to finish The Start of Train before Christmas 'cause as I've said, there are only six chapters left and an epilogue. **

**Moving on, we are getting to the biggest bomb of this story and when that blows up, there would be smaller but as effective bombs to come. Trust me. Even I surprised myself. Also, I have read Divergent! Yay me! It's actually a pretty nice book and would make you think about the world the same way as The Hunger Games does. So yeah. I want to check out Skulduggery Pleasant series - was it? Not sure if I got the title right. Has anybody read them?**

**Sneak Peek for Chapter 15:**

Ian looked at Amy. "Is this going to be permanent? Because I refuse to live through that for months on end," he told her. Amy just smiled amusedly.

Jonah threw a shoe at him. "Just deal with it. It's better than all the yelling and the rambling and the walk-outs and the drama and the Tomas-versus-Ekats arguments and the –"

Ian shot him a deadly look, gripping Jonah's shoe. "I get it," he snapped, throwing it as hard as he could on Jonah's chest. Jonah grunted, looking at Amy with a wounded expression. Sinead and Hamilton glared at all of them.

"Ian, Jonah does have a point," Amy pointed out.

"Who cares?" Ian exclaimed, outraged that Amy sided with Jonah. "I have a point, too."

"I have to live through this every single day," Dan told Natalie. "Can you believe it?"

"It sounds fun," Natalie said wistfully.

**Ooohh... A long Sneaky Peekie. Haha. Oh well. **

**Tell me any mistakes you spotted or what you thought about the chapter by filling out the little box below called Review. I know it's a little bit short, but yeah. Haha. You won't be disappointed next time. Promise.**

**Read, Re-read and Review. Reviews are an FFers best friend. XD**

**Much Love, Peace Out! **

**AngelicSpring. **


	16. The Fifteenth Chapter

**WARNING: This chapter contains a big explosion and is SIX full pages on WORD (without the rambling AN). **

**Whoa. I don't usually put warnings on my ANs, but when I do, even I feel warned.**

**Haha. Anyways, the information above is all true. This is the chapter. THE. CHAPTER. The one I can't wait to show you guys. It's actually very exciting because I know it would raise a whole lot of questions and you guys would demand answers. I hope you like it as much as I enjoyed writing it. Also, five chapters and one epilogue left. Let's make it count!**

**Huge thank you for all these amazing people who flooded my email notifications with EIGHT Review emails from individual people: **emmelinekat (seriously, what would I do without you? XD I think I will... 'Cause I kind of need to. Haha. Thank you!), NatalieKFan (glad you liked them! Haha. Well, I hope you get to read this as soon as I post it XD), addicted2reading9 (Especially THAT single one... Hahahaha. TrisXFour! Anyhoo, yep, you would find out what happened to Casper... not so soon, though. It won't be that pretty), TheUltimateArtist (I've actually looked it up on Kindle and it's like a reality show thingy with royal stuff, right? I'd check the library and see. Sounds good though! XD), magicdemi-god223 (Haha. I know. My humour is – sadly – quite limited. I'm glad I'm updating faster, too. Makes me feel responsible), rhetorically yours (I will sound really weird, but the first thing I thought when you said Super Who is Dr. Who. Are those related? Haha. I don't think my planet has this 'Super Who' you speak of... XD), Regina2111 (Haha. Natan forever! XD) and JesseCPK (who I should wholeheartedly thank for reviewing EVERY SINGLE CHAPTER of The Start of Train and is now reviewing The Start of Pain. Thank you so much for your patience! Your nice reviews don't go unnoticed).** See, how many of you reviewed?! Thank you so much, guys! Here, have this Super Amazing FFers shirt!**

**Read on! Read on, amazing people of the universe!**

**Enjoy 'cause that's what matters most!**

**oooooOooooo**

**Chapter 15**

Dan put on his best confused face which he prided on considering he has Amy for a sister. "Whoa! So, Satan's spawn really isn't Cobra's brother? What is going on here?" he asked, severely perplexed at Ian and Victoria's banter.

"And who is this uncle you're talking about?"Sinead chimed in, although it looked like she couldn't care less. She was too busy munching on the Tangy Cheese Doritos. "I'm confused."

Hamilton stared at her. "Go easy on the chips! They're not going away," he said sarcastically.

Sinead made a face at him. "Yeah, sure. 'Cause that's what happened to the last one before they all went in your stomach," she replied. Hamilton stuck his tongue out at her and she did the same. It was cute in a dating-teasing sort of way, but Cahills don't do 'dating-teasing sort of way'. Naturally, this thing means disgusting.

Ian looked at Amy. "Is this going to be permanent? Because I refuse to live through that for months on end," he told her. Amy just smiled amusedly.

Jonah threw a shoe at him. "Just deal with it. It's better than all the yelling and the rambling and the walk-outs and the drama and the Tomas-versus-Ekats arguments and the –"

Ian shot him a deadly look, gripping Jonah's shoe. "I get it," he snapped, throwing it as hard as he could on Jonah's chest. Jonah grunted, looking at Amy with a wounded expression. Sinead and Hamilton glared at all of them.

"Ian, Jonah does have a point," Amy pointed out.

"Who cares?" Ian exclaimed, outraged that Amy sided with Jonah. "I have a point, too."

"I have to live through this every single day," Dan told Natalie. "Can you believe it?"

"It sounds fun," Natalie said wistfully.

Dan frowned. "No. It sounds insane and that's what it really is. It's fun when you see people hitting other people on the head, but after awhile it gets old." Dan handed her some nuts. "Want some?" Natalie nodded gratefully.

"Sinead, dear?" Alistair called from the other side. Victoria's muffled curse escaped the confines of the curtain.

"Yeah?" Sinead called back.

"I could use some medical help," Alistair continued.

Sinead made a face at her half-finished bag of chips. She sighed longingly, knowing that she would have to be a good person. "Coming," she said, standing up as though the effort was painful. She dropped the bag on Hamilton's lap and handed him the dip. "Don't finish it," she warned, giving him a pointed look. Hamilton raised his arms defensively. Sinead nodded approvingly before disappearing behind the curtain.

"Anyway," Ian said, steering the conversation back to the original matter at hand. "My uncle – our uncle," he rephrased, looking at Natalie who pursed her lips. "He's called Adhiraj. He was with Alistair in that Vesper hospital and they escaped together with that Ekat doctor. He told me that our father, Vikram –"

Natalie tilted her head. "That sounds familiar," she whispered.

"Yes, well, he wanted me to think clearly of my childhood," Ian said. He looked at Amy. "Remember the blue bird?" Amy nodded. "It really was a young boy, but it wasn't a memory at all. It was a bedtime story Isabel used to tell me every night. She used to tell me the story of twins where one is kind and the other was evil."Ian wrung his hands. "I don't know why that story came to mind all of a sudden. Probably because Isabel has her aura all over what's happening."

"Is Isabel a bad person?" Natalie asked Dan, but the question was heard by everybody.

"Well, uh... She's, you know... Huh," Dan hesitated, looking at his sister for support. Amy had nothing. They can't just tell her that, _yeah, she's Supreme Evil. She killed our parents and pretty much tried to kill everybody else just to gain all the power the world has to offer._ Yep, that would scar her.

"What do you think, Natalie?" Ian asked calmly, unperturbed by her arresting question.

Natalie looked up at him fearfully, but as their eyes locked together, the feeling melted down to her shoes. He was just looking at her very kindly, like he knows every bit of her life and has accepted her shortcomings. She felt safe. Not scared. "Um... She's my mom. She can't be bad," she said finally. She looked at Dan. "Right?"

"Stop lying to her," Victoria said, a cloth slung over shoulder protecting her arm from any unnecessary movement. "It won't make things better. Trust me." She looked at Natalie. The little girl cowered behind Dan. "Do you remember me?"

Natalie nodded mutely.

Victoria looked at her square in the eyes. "Isabel is a bad, manipulative person. She toys with lives until nobody could live them the way they wanted. Do you understand?" she said seriously. Her glare is enough to make a grown man shiver in panic.

Tears flooded Natalie's eyes. She buried her head on Dan's shoulder and gripped his arm tighter. Her sobs echoed in the silent jet.

"What the freak is your problem?!"

Ian stared at Dan who had just exclaimed, his own mouth still open to exclaim the same words the kid just did. Probably not the exact same words, but definitely in that similar context. Ian could see an indignant glint in those jade green eyes.

"If you're trying to help, no _thank you_," Dan continued angrily. "You're making things worse! I may not be a therapist, but I know better than to drop that kinda bomb. I mean, duh. No brainer much?"

Victoria was taken aback, yet she managed to recover fast enough to snarl at the kid. "You think everything's going to be fine by just saying it? Isabel doesn't work that way. She attacks regardless of her enemies' preparedness. The more unprepared and innocent they are, the faster she acts."

Dan snorted. "Yeah. And acting like her would make things so much better," he retorted. He looked behind him at the snivelling Natalie. "Stop crying, Nat. It's cool. She didn't mean it."

Sinead appeared from the curtains, her hands way too streaked with blood to eat chips. She was scrubbing them vigorously with the curtain when the cloth in the first aid kit didn't work. "Gotta admire your nerve, Ms. Attitude. One minute after you get back in the scene, you start getting on everybody's nerve," she said. She glared at her hands. "Ugh. Why doesn't this come off?!" Hamilton made a disgusted face. "I saw that," she accused him.

"That's not very hygienic, my dear," Alistair said, pulling his gloves off his hands. "Hamilton, could you get the alcohol from one of the bags, please?"

Hamilton placed the chips and the dip on the floor. "Careful with that! That's my food!" Sinead complained. Hamilton glared at her as he dug around for the bottle. Sinead held out her hands as he poured alcohol all over them.

"Okay," Hamilton said, crinkling his nose at the red stuff. The strong smell of the antiseptic made his head ache. "That is just gross."

"So, can somebody please explain what's going on? In full detail, if you don't mind," Amy added, glancing at Ian expectantly.

Ian nodded and started with his narration before he could get distracted... from a lot of things. "That Alex person is not my brother and I think Ms ex-Vesper should continue from there on," he said pointedly.

Victoria growled, looking terribly martyred. "Ugh. I hate explaining," she grumbled. Her eyes darkened and glinted dangerously as if this topic touched every nerve in her body and she's ready to crack some necks. "Let's just say that your witch of a mother is terrific storyteller. So terrific in fact that she made a bestselling novel out of our lives."

They were all silent as they waited for her to expand further. The only sound was the choreographic snoring of one Rosenbloom and Tolliver.

"What we did to Natalie wasn't the first time Vespers has done something like that," she explained, gazing at something outside the window. "Erasing memories is just one of their many specialties. Altering everything else is just the next step."

"And by everything else..." Amy prodded.

"Are Cahills really this stupid?" she asked the ceiling. She sighed. "My twin brother and I... we're orphans. That's all I know. The memories of being in the orphanage are kind of blurry, but nowadays, when I try to conjure them up in my head, they're there. And very, very real."

There was suddenly a Halloween kind of music playing, the type that makes any scene in the movies as scary as anything and then you realize afterwards that it was the stupidest horror scene you have ever seen. Everybody, except for Victoria who just looked surprised, glared at Dan. Dan shrugged sheepishly, holding his iPod as if it was the missing crime weapon. "Thought we could use some background music," he said defensively.

"Like every other time," Ian said slowly, making clear that he wanted to have Dan unconscious, "you thought wrong."

Dan made a face at him without making any move to stop the music. They all stared at him expectantly without registering recognition from the boy. Natalie reached forward and stopped the music (she saw Dan press the middle button, so she thought pressing that again would make it stop – even that wasn't rocket science for her) for the love of everybody's sanity.

"Thank you, Natalie," Hamilton said pointedly. Natalie smiled proudly albeit shyly.

"Should I continue now?" Victoria said unenthusiastically. Amy smiled apologetically and nodded for her to continue. Victoria sighed. "Okay. So, I remember being in the orphanage and there are lots of events in there that seemed out-of-context."

"Such as?" Jonah said, trying to keep his mind on this conversation but there is just too much talking to pay attention. He has to ask questions or else there will be a snoring Jonah Wizard in the building... jet, whichever.

"That woman who always orders me to tell Alex something," Victoria rummaged in her pocket. Thankfully the necklace is still intact. She held it up for all of them to see. "This is what she left me."

There was a thump as the alcohol fell from Alistair Oh's hands. His eyes sparked as they focused on the antiquated object. "She left that with you, you say?" he whispered, his tone so serious that even Sinead had to stare at her uncle as did everybody else. Nobody has ever heard him talk like that. Alistair always had a knack for putting a little amusement in his tone even during the Clue Hunt. That's pretty much how there's a little – very little – connection between him and Dan. A connection that saved Alistair from getting strangled half the time.

Victoria nodded, seeing nothing unusual about it. Her eyes are as transfixed as Alistair's on the necklace. "She shoved it in my hands when I was little and asked me to tell Alex... And that's where I blank out. I don't know what information she wanted me to pass on which is why I went to Russia. Hopefully to find her," she said, sadness tinting her voice.

Alistair shook his head. "She's dead. It's not possible you could –" He stopped himself, his wise eyes widening.

Ian looked at him intently. "You know who she is talking about?" he asked.

A bead of sweat trickled down Alistair's face. "I just... She's... She's a friend," he said hesitantly.

Jonah felt the burst of adrenalin. "Oh good gangsta! It's Alistair's first love!" he exclaimed, grinning like a madman at all of them.

Dan wrinkled his nose. "Ew."

Hamilton frowned. "First love? In what century?" Sinead pinched his arm, although she was trying to hide a smile. Hamilton grinned and wagged his eyebrows at her.

Alistair made a face at them. "As amusing to you as it may, no, the woman I'm talking about is not my first – or succeeding – love whatsoever," he said, shooting them all a firm look.

Sinead, Hamilton and Jonah bit their lips as silent giggles shook their bodies.

Alistair shook his head at them. "She's a friend of... a very good friend of mine," he explained, looking uncomfortable.

"So, a friend of your first love?" Dan clarified. Sinead, Hamilton and Jonah burst out laughing.

"No..." Alistair said slowly, seeing no humour in the matter. His eyes looked terribly saddened that only one person could come to mind whenever that particular expression comes on.

Ian recognized it immediately. "That expression... Does this have something to do with Irina?"

"Huh. So this really has something to do with Alistair's first love," Dan grumbled, getting awfully bored.

"Irina? Who's she?" Victoria said, leaning forward.

Alistair looked slightly taken aback, not even bothering to make a comment about Dan's statement. "A Vesper who doesn't know Irina Spasky?" he mumbled to himself. "That's odd... and a clear indication that my blooming hypothesis might be right. But before I share it," he said louder, catching the bubbling complaint Ian is going to have. He gestured at Victoria. "Let us have Victoria's full story first."

Victoria blinked, vaguely realizing that Alistair just gave her the microphone and the whole stage back. "Well. As I've said, I didn't find that crazed woman. All of her files mysteriously disappeared. I mean, not that I'm surprised," she grumbled, her eyes burning with annoyed hatred. "This is Isabel we're talking about after all. My last resort was the hospital. Since all of you know anyway, I guess it's safe to say that the hospital doubles as the Vespers' vault of private information."

Dan raised a hand. "Actually... we didn't know that," he offered. Every Cahill in the room glared daggers at him. He quickly changed tracks. "Or did we? Maybe we did."

Victoria hadn't even noticed. "No such luck in there, too," she said dejectedly. "And then, those stupid guards had to shoot me." She said that last part so casually as if getting shot was one of her hobbies. "That's pretty much it."

Alistair nodded thoughtfully. "This Alex person... Could you tell me what he likes?" he asked Victoria.

"That's easy," Ian scoffed, his amber eyes blazing violently. "He likes killing people."

"He didn't ask you," Victoria snapped, taking offense even though she wasn't who Ian was insulting. It was just reflex that made her protect Alex. "Alex... well, he likes... having things done his way and he likes it when his plan works flawlessly," she said tentatively. "Is that what you wanted to know?"

Alistair shook his head slowly. "Not exactly... Say, did he have a special preference for... monkeys?" he inquired, his tone similar to a doctor who is asking for a year-old symptom. Under different circumstances, Ian and the others would have found that question funny.

But not Victoria. Victoria just looked shocked. Blood drained from her face, faster than when her wound was bleeding profusely. "I... Yes, he does – I mean, did," she said quickly, looking confused. "He probably does, but I wouldn't know. But how did you..."

Alistair's hands started to shake. They moved automatically to grip his diamond-tipped cane, only to realize that he wasn't holding it. "How about theatre?" he whispered breathily. He looked as pale as Victoria. This was the moment of truth. One single 'yes' from her would seal everything. "Does he love the theatre?"

The two of them shared a staggering look. Hamilton, Sinead, Jonah, Dan, Ian, Amy and even poor, disoriented Natalie found themselves holding their breaths for the answer without knowing why exactly they were doing it. Victoria swallowed the huge lump in her throat. "Yes," she said with a nod, blanching even more.

"But you said you knew he was a Cahill," Hamilton pointed out, staring at Victoria. "How come you're so surprised with everything Alistair's saying?"

Victoria looked at him vaguely. "I was... I took a wild guess. Russia has always been one of the Cahills' headquarters, of course. Anything out of Vesper's reach has to be Cahill property," she said.

Hamilton looked like he didn't believe her for one second.

"It's true," she insisted, getting rather annoyed. "It's called bluffing, Tomas. Try it sometime. I was trying to pull information out of you all before anything else."

Alistair was silent for a long minute. Sinead glanced at Hamilton helplessly which he returned with a shrug. Jonah tried to rack his brain for any connections between monkeys and theatre. All he could think of was the movie _Rise of the_ _Planet of the Apes_ where his homie Tom Felton starred. Amy and Ian waited for Alistair to continue.

Finally, after what seemed like an eternity, Alistair breathed a long breath out as if he was trying to calm his nerves. He dug around for the worn wallet back from that fateful night of the Clue Hunt. "Children," he said gravely like somebody has died as he looked at all of them in the eye. He opened the wallet, revealing a picture of a beaming blonde toddler holding a ball with a temple behind him. Amy recognized that wallet almost immediately and was about to ask Alistair about it when he continued speaking. "We might be looking at Nikolai Spaskaya, the supposed deceased son of the late Irina Nikolaievna Spaskaya."

**oooooOooooo**

**And BOOM!**

**You know what, I'm not going to waste your time with ANs. **

**Sneak Peek for Chapter 16:**

"What is it, Maria?" he asked, trying to keep himself from yelling at the poor kid.

Too late. Maria was already trying to brave her tears as she sniffled them away. "Mr Butler told me I'm s'posed to be the one to look after the pretty Barbie," she said in a small voice, pertaining to Natalie. "I went to the exam room, but she wasn't there."

Alex growled low and menacing under his breath. "The girl is gone, Maria. You're off the hook," he said tightly, his jaw clenched as numerous ways of murdering the wretched boy passed his mind.

Maria looked confused, but she wasn't going to ask questions. "What am I gonna do now?" she asked him instead.

"Go talk to Jared, or paint the walls," he sighed wearily. He rubbed his temples. "Just stay out of my sight."

Maria flinched at the hostility of his tone, but otherwise nodded agreeably. She closed the door quietly and wandered off to find Jared whom we called 'Anthony' before. She found him sprawled on his bed with his Rubik's cube. His fingers moved fluidly along the cube before he paid attention to her. After a few seconds, he looked at Maria, appraising her tear-streaked face. With one last flick, the cube is solved as he sat down. "Told you he wouldn't like it if you bothered him," he said in a bored tone.

**Read, Re-read and Review? **

**Enjoy your week, everybody!**

**Much Love, Peace Out!**

**AngelicSpring. **


	17. The Sixteenth Chapter

**Hiya, you guys!**

**I am so sorry for updating later than my once-a-week quota. Oh my good goshness! Exams are this January and we are finishing up the topics in my four subjects now, so I really, really need to finish TSP before the end of term. Kind of... before December 21, at least. The two weeks of vacation I have will be dedicated for revising the NUMEROUS topics I have to cover. **

**Oh well.**

**I hope you are not getting bored with this story yet. I have read your reviews, you guys, and they are... SUPAMAWESTATICSHIZZLE. New word! Woohoo! I hope the succeeding chapters (not this one yet) will be able to answer your questions especially since the rest of the chapters will be for unravelling mysteries. **

**Huge thank you to this supamawestaticshizzle people (please don't ask me to pronounce that word): **TheUltimateArtist (Ooh! Ooh! Congratulate me! I have just recently finished the epilogue – without finishing any of the middle chapters whatsoever – and there is a huge Amian moment there which would probably make you love or hate me. There might be more in the middle chapters, but we'll see XD), JesseCPK (I know, right?! There should a shirt like that!), emmelinekat (I hate inequalities and their graphs! Haha. I am aware that I am leaving a lot of questions which should hopefully be answered before the epilogue), Regina211 (911! 999! SOS! Are you okay now? XD), magicdemi-god223 (oh no. That's kind of the problem when you want to give each of your characters a chance to shine, people would get them mixed up. I hope this chapter would remind you – and other people who became confused – who's who), NatsuDragneel46 (another Wattpadder! Hi, hi! Oh my goshness! Thank you so much for the support! I hope you won't get tired of these stories XD), addicted2reading9 (D'aww! Thank you so much! I'm glad you enjoyed that chapter! Natan shall prosper! Hey, that rhymed! XD), Guest1 (I'm sorry you didn't like the love triangle I made up. :( I actually thought I could pull the whole Hamilton-Sinead-Jake triangle. Don'tcha worry, not much love triangle from now on), CoLoRfUlBoOkWoRm (Glad you liked it! Thank you so much!), Happy girl (Hahahahaha. Oh my good gosh! I should have thought of that! Keeping Ian happy while I feed my Natan needs. That way he wouldn't threaten to throw me down the cliff! XD), Guest2 (Thank you! XD) and Ladyorfthetaj (Thank you so much! Sorry for the later update. XD).

**Read on and enjoy 'cause that's what matters most!**

**oooooOooooo**

**Chapter 16**

Alex sneezed.

_Stupid cold_, he thought angrily. He glared at the skyline outside his window. It was a rather endearing sight. The glittering lights, the busy bustle on the streets, little children with their parents going home from their nursery...

And he hated every little bit of it.

"Stupid world," he muttered, pulling blinds down as roughly as he could.

There was a tentative knock on his door. "What do you want?!" he growled loudly. He could almost feel the flinching from behind the door which opened very, very slightly. The younger girl – about twelve to thirteen years of age – we called 'Jasmine' peered fearfully inside.

"What is it, Maria?" he asked, trying to keep himself from yelling at the poor kid.

Too late. Maria was already trying to brave her tears as she sniffled them away. "Mr Butler told me I'm s'posed to be the one to look after the pretty Barbie," she said in a small voice, pertaining to Natalie. "I went to the exam room, but she wasn't there."

Alex growled low and menacing under his breath. "The girl is gone, Maria. You're off the hook," he said tightly, his jaw clenched as numerous ways of murdering the wretched boy passed his mind.

Maria looked confused, but she wasn't going to ask questions. "What am I gonna do now?" she asked him instead.

"Go talk to Jared, or paint the walls," he sighed wearily. He rubbed his temples. "Just stay out of my sight."

Maria flinched at the hostility of his tone, but otherwise nodded agreeably. She closed the door quietly and wandered off to find Jared whom we called 'Anthony' before. Jared and Maria had been with Alex during the Human Chess game alongside Victoria and Jonathan. During the chess game, they had been quite passive and were merely present because the Council instructed them to be. Jared had been the angelic boy while Maria clutched at her sketch pad as though it could protect her from Alex' madness.

Maria found Jared sprawled on his bed with his Rubik's cube. His fingers moved fluidly along the cube before he paid attention to her. After a few seconds, he looked at Maria, appraising her tear-streaked face. With one last flick, the cube is solved as he sat down. "Told you he wouldn't like it if you bothered him," he said in a bored tone.

She wrinkled her nose and sat on the other end of his bed. "I didn't want him to think I was missing out on my duty," she said miserably. Maria rubbed at her nose. "He said she wasn't there anymore."

Jared looked at the wall above her head which is where the vent. "So I've heard," he said emotionlessly.

Maria looked at him questioningly. "Were you spying again?"

Jared looked at her listlessly as if she pulled him out of his thoughts. "Hm... No. Not spying. They were talking loudly, is all. What are you supposed to do now?" he asked her, trying to deviate the conversation away from him as he always does. It is not good for people to start talking about you.

She gestured around her. "He told me to talk to you," she said plainly.

Jared raised an eyebrow, not believing it one bit.

Maria sighed dejectedly. "Well, it was either this or I paint the walls. I chose the less boring one."

Jared said nothing. He lied back on his bed and began disarranging his Rubik's cube again. "You should really start looking for a wall that needs a new look," he told her impassively. Once the cube was as arrayed as possible, he began solving it again.

Maria glared at him. She stood up and briskly walked out of his room.

Jared watched her leave with the corner of his eye. "Jonathan is an idiot for thinking it would work," he said to himself, looking at the newly solved cube. He threw it across the room disgustedly, the individual blocks falling out.

"Excuse me for being an idiot, but did you have a better alternative?"

Jared frowned. "Get out of my room," he told Jonathan without sparing him a look.

"Ouch," Jonathan clutched his chest. He sat down the swivelling chair on Jared's seemingly unused desk, looking at the ruined cube at his feet. "After all we've been through? This is how you treat the guy who acted as your older brother?"

Jared finally had to look at him. He laughed darkly. "_Sure_... Older brother. Whatever makes you sleep at night," he said, reaching for his sketch pad lying on his bedside table which is identical to Maria's only because she insisted. Poor girl needs someone to consider as a friend.

"Why haven't you told anybody?" Jonathan asked curiously, spinning himself round and round with the swivelling chair.

"There's no point," Jared replied as if it was the most obvious thing in the world. Jonathan looked amusedly confused. "Your plan will come biting you in the butt any moment now and it will fail miserably. Therefore, there is no point in exposing you and your dirty little secrets." His charcoal pencil flew over the page as quickly as he had solved the cube. A picture of a snake, its mouth opened wide revealing a pair of sharp and deadly fangs, seem to be straining out of the page. It looked so real; nobody would be surprised if it comes to life and devours anything on its path.

Jonathan laughed at the kid's frank speculations. "And if it works?" he asked, sounding unaffected by Jared's jabs.

"It might," Jared allowed, putting more shadows on the snake to make it more three-dimensional. "But you will pay a huge price."

"Ah... There's always that, isn't there?" Jonathan said, rubbing his chin for a non-existent beard. He stood up. "Well. That's that. As long as you keep your mouth and your little toys," he pointed at the vent above his head, "_shut_, all is well. I shall be handling my own business and you should do the same with yours."

Jared raised an eyebrow at him. "So, you only came here to give me my nose back?" he said indifferently.

Jonathan nodded happily, but his eyes held seriousness you should not ignore. "Exactly. I found it in my business," he said with the cheerful voice, walking up to the side of Jared's bed and letting debris of what looked like listening devices (bugs) fall on top of the pristine white sheets.

Jared looked at the destroyed bugs he had personally made without any affection whatsoever. "Don't worry. My nose was never in your business," he said dismissively, tearing the page with the snake out of his book and handing it to him.

Jonathan took it. "What's this for?" he asked, looking at the sharp fangs with venom dripping from them.

"For when the time comes that you see everything I told you is right," Jared replied, working on another drawing. "I want you to look at it and let the snake tell you, 'I told you so'."

Jonathan stared at the kid. He neatly folded the A4 paper into wallet size and slipped it inside his leather wallet. He raised his wallet and said, "Thanks." He was the second person to leave Jared's room and the only one with the decency to actually close the door.

Jared snorted. "It's such a shame that I am never wrong," he murmured, shading the finished drawing of a dying girl in a pool of blood.

**xxxOOOxxx**

Ned smelled something really, really bad and felt something really, really hard on his face. It could only mean one thing. Ted's foot is on his face again. He clawed at the thing without opened his eyes. "Ted, move your dang foot off my face," he mumbled sleepily.

"But I don't wanna move to Alaska," Ted replied just as sleepy as his brother and severelyly muffled. It took Ned his whole life to understand every language his brother has to offer.

That stupid reply snapped Ned's eyes wide open. He glared at his twin, but before he could go all-out on his ranting, the sight in front of him choked the living life out of him.

The living room is a mess.

Having said that, the whole mansion must be thrashed as well. Reagan and Madison are sprawled on the back of the couch, bags of Skittles and Hershey's Kisses cluttered around their snoring bodies. Atticus is curled up in a ball near the grand piano which surprisingly survived whatever hurricane passed by the Cahill mansion. Phoenix and Keightlyn are sleeping soundly over a game of chess. No one seemed to be winning, actually. Potato chips littered the room along with – _is that string cheese?_ There were less than a hundred empty party poppers all over the place, two of which were in Ted's mouth. _So, that's why his voice sounded muffled_, Ned realized. The thought of pulling the things out of his twin's mouth occurred to him, but he shoved it away. Ned was sure Ted could still breathe anyway. The other couch is upside down and clothes were strewn across the room like huge, colourful confetti.

Wait.

_Clothes?_

White Armani shirts and slacks were painted pink by what looked like an angry mob of nail polish. Manchester United jerseys had flying pigs with tutus against the red cloth. The same goes with shorts. Khaki sweaters that Ned knew all too well are hung around the room like banners with flowery dresses from tails. Ned felt a strong migraine, stronger than when he had been rendered deaf by the explosion. He shoved a still sleeping Ted with his foot. "Dude! Wake up!" he ordered, closing his eyes as he imagined that the Cahill mansion would be spick and span when he opened them again.

Ted mumbled in his sleep, nearly choking with the empty party poppers in his mouth.

Ned felt his phone vibrate in his jeans pocket. He checked it as he racked his brain about what happened last night. "Oh, sweet mother of –" he spat, dropping his phone on the floor as he pulled Ted up to his feet by the collar. "TED HAVERFORD STARLING! YOU NEED TO WAKE YOUR SORRY BUTT THIS INSTANT! THE OTHERS ARE COMING!"

Ted's head rolled violently side to side as Ned shook him awake. "Wha...?"

Ned repeatedly slapped his brother on the face with the back of his hand. "Wake... Up... You... Useless... Starling!" he shouted, shaking his brother again after he's done with the slapping. The ruckus he's making woke the others up. Reagan and Madison cringed from the unexpected mess around them. Atticus baulked from the grand piano, thinking that it was a giant... something black. "Checkmate!" Phoenix exclaimed, unconsciously pointing at the chessboard. Keightlyn had her eyebrows drawn in confusion as she rubbed her eyes.

"What's going on?" Atticus asked, putting his glasses back on after they fell on his chest.

Ned had this crazed look on his face, like a prisoner having just escaped from Azkaban. His eyes were huge and his face was pale. "They're coming home..." he panted, his hands still tight on Ted's collar.

Ted grimaced at his twin. "What are you talking about?" He made different faces to stretch the muscles on his face. "Oh wow. My face hurts." He shot Ned a really dark look.

Ned shook his head. "Don't you all see?!" he screamed. "We're all gonna die if we don't clean this house in less than an hour!"

Keightlyn sat up from her lying position. Her ribs felt like they were embedded on her chest now. "But we never even messed anything – Oh my Olivia!" She stared in horror all around her. Everybody did the same thing and simultaneously grew pale. As pale as the pristine white Armani shirts... before they were ruined.

Ted swallowed, his Adam's apple bobbing up and down anxiously. "Um... The 'they' people you were talking about... Might our murderous, scary, homicidal, lethal and terrifying sister be in that lot?" he asked nervously.

Ned looked at him with wide eyes. And nodded.

Ted swallowed again. He looked at the others. "We need to clean this crib because our lives literally depend on it," he whispered breathily.

Without further ado, each one of them sprung to their feet like the floor has just been set on fire.

**xxxOOOxxx**

He looked at the recent reports his worthless assistant – who is currently cowering, the bumbling fool, at his sight... glare, whichever – has brought up to him.

"What is this supposed to be?" he growled, having read both of the paragraphs on the page at least three times. "That little girl who's nothing but a worm turned out to be the worst snake of all?!" He slammed the papers on the desk along with ear-splitting whack of his hands on the mahogany.

His assistant – forty years of age, mind you – flinched further away from his employer. A few more flinches and his back would be touching the door. "Sir... Uh... She... She has been, uh, missing for... almost a week now... And, uh..." He cautiously wiped his forehead with a white handkerchief he has been gripping tightly for dear life. "And, uh... She... –"

"SPIT IT OUT!" his employer exploded, his face turning red from rage. Which is bad because somebody usually dies when he turns all red like that.

"She killed nine guards in The Hospital, sir, and is believed to have run away with... with the Cahills," the assistant blurted out without pausing to breathe.

The employer stopped. He sat down. He contemplated.

The assistant waited.

"Very well, then." The employer laced his fingers together and rested his elbows on top of his desk. The assistant dreaded the next words which would surely come out of his employer's mouth. It always ends like this. The employer sneered with that disgustingly wretched and malicious mocking expression he has. "Let poor, little Victoria die." He raised an eyebrow at his assistant.

"As... As you wish, sir," the assistant replied, backing away and leaving the room with a heavy heart. His son has mentioned such nice things about the girl. Too bad she won't be in this world for very long.

**oooooOooooo**

**Oh Vespers. You and your evil works. I hope you liked that chapter. More characters showing up, it seems. I love how the other Cahills messed up the mansion. Will they clean it up in time? Haha. **

**I wonder what will happen now. Can't put longer ANs 'cause I still have to revise for my Chemistry exam on Monday. **

**Sneak Peek for Chapter 17:**

"Speaking of girlfriends!" Vikram slammed his fist on his palm as if he forgot something important. He twirled around to look at Amy who was sitting not far away from Ian. The young, reddish-brown haired girl was twirling a stray of her locks into a knot tensely. "You must be Amy Cahill," he told her, looking so fatherly that Amy felt a punch in her gut as she remembered her own dad. "You look so much like your mother, but with a hint of your father as well. Now I see why my son took quite a liking to you. And..." He looked around until he found Dan. Unlike his sister, Dan seemed unaffected – if not, even more annoyed – about Vikram's appearance. "Daniel Arthur Cahill. My, my. Aren't you the little Arthur Josiah Trent?" he said fondly.

Dan snorted. "Wouldn't you know, you murderer," he said just as fondly.

**Read, re-read and review. **

**Much Love, Peace Out!**

**AngelicSpring. **


	18. The Seventeenth Chapter

**Hiya, you guys!**

**I'm sorry. **

**I have gone MIA for the past WEEKS, but thank you for your patience. You guys are amazing people that don't pressure me. It's like you know pressure and stress when you see it, you know? Because of you guys, I have had a 'more or less' clear mind when I took my mock exams and got really, really good grades. I thank all those people who wished me good luck and prayed for me and all that. I love you all so much! XD **

**Good news now! I will be updating every day until the last chapter. This is... the seventeenth chapter so, there are FOUR (AHHH! FOUR! *fangirling* Shout-out to Divergent fans!) more chapters to go which, if I update everyday from now on, would mean TSP would end a day after Christmas day. **

**Overflowing gratitude and love go to these amazing, supportive people: **JesseCPK (Haha. Is it? It probably is and the line sounds so cliché, doesn't it? Wait. From HP? Really?! This shames me, like, so bad, but I haven't been reading the 39 Clues. Like, ever since after the third Cahills vs Vespers book. I know. Shoot me, guys. But, it's just the book isn't available on Kindle yet and I'm low on money to buy it over the online thingies and have it delivered at my doorstep. I swear, every bookstore I have been to DOES NOT have any 39 Clues book. Anyways... I wouldn't know if Sinead is Vesper. Some say she is in the fourth book. But in this story, nope. XD) addicted2reading9 (Hahaha. I actually looked back on what I wrote to check what rhymed. Haha. Anyhoo, you wouldn't want to know. Cahills... are Cahills. They do awesome stuff that can burn down the whole house. XD), TheUltimateArtist (Wait... There is a bit of Amian here... I think. I checked. Hahaha. Just a bit, though.), magicdemi-god223 (that's actually a good idea! I think I did the recap thing back in TST, right? I'm on it, captain! XD), coco597 (thanks for the support! Here is the next chapter! I hope you like it. XD), Regina2111 (you're welcome! XD You're assumptions are amazingly detailed. We'll see, though... Haha. XD), hi (hello! You would know what Vikram's got to do with everything in... this chapter. Hope you like it. XD) and emmelinekat (oh gosh. I believe we have fallen into the same predicament. Ian will probably murder them nonetheless. They messed with his clothes. Nobody messes with Ian Kabra's clothes. Hahaha. Happy holidays to you, too!)** Thank you all so much for the amazing reviews that I have appreciated individually in my own weird way. **

**I have an announcement to make at the end of this chapter, so please stay tuned. It has something to do with beta-ing something I have been doing lately, so yeah. If any of you guys are interested, please stay tuned. **

**Previously on The Start of Pain: **

"SPIT IT OUT!" his employer exploded, his face turning red from rage. Which is bad because somebody usually dies when he turns all red like that.

"She killed nine guards in The Hospital, sir, and is believed to have run away with... with the Cahills," the assistant blurted out without pausing to breathe.

The employer stopped. He sat down. He contemplated.

The assistant waited.

"Very well, then." The employer laced his fingers together and rested his elbows on top of his desk. The assistant dreaded the next words which would surely come out of his employer's mouth. It always ends like this. The employer sneered with that disgustingly wretched and malicious mocking expression he has. "Let poor, little Victoria die." He raised an eyebrow at his assistant.

"As... As you wish, sir," the assistant replied, backing away and leaving the room with a heavy heart. His son has mentioned such nice things about the girl. Too bad she won't be in this world for very long.

**On with the story. Enjoy, 'cause that's what matters most. **

**oooooOooooo**

**Chapter 17**

Ian felt like drowning himself.

Which is a first, considering he loves himself very much. Among other reddish-haired things. But regardless, he feels awful enough to want to dunk his head on a filthy peasant pool. Ever since he met his 'twin', Ian's mind had been filled with ways on how to make that Alex' life as miserable as possible. Then, Alistair comes and drops the 'Alex might be Nikolai' bomb and all the previous thoughts disintegrated to pitiful dust bunnies.

"Do you suppose you could call me Auntie Irina? You're the same age now as another little boy I once knew..." she has once said to him.

And he had looked at her with this disdain. Because Isabel told Natalie and him that she was worthless.

To find out that this is what Isabel had done to her and her family. Ian felt like throwing up. More and more reasons are coming up to hate the blood flowing in his very veins.

"But when I was nine," he whispered and every turned to look at him. "Irina said that I was the same age as a little boy she knew before. That should be his son, so how..."

Alistair looked at Victoria who stopped talking ever since he said his theory and completely looked as if heaven and earth was colliding before her very eyes. "Are you sure you're sixteen years old, dear?" he asked her gently.

Victoria shook her head. "I don't know anymore," she said in an undertone. "I mean... I'm pretty sure I am." She could feel blood draining out of her, leaving her wanting to gasp for breath and cold to the core. Thoughts circling around the last few days pummelled her mind. _The old man gave her a sideways glance and his old, wise eyes glittered as his shaky hands pointed at the locket. "Funny girl... with... little blonde... kid..." he wheezed in Russian wistfully. _Victoria blanched. She felt like throwing up. _The old man seemed to understand that and shook his head quickly. "No, no, no, no. Young girl with little blond kid," he blubbered, nearly incomprehensible. "Not her kid. No, no," the old man protested. "It's her kid." He nodded understandingly, leaning his head back on the rocking chair and closed his eyes. _She was so lost in thoughts that she didn't even realize that the Cahills resumed talking, oblivious to her heart-wrenching apprehensions.

Jonah jumped up from his seat. "Aw, c'mon, people!" he exclaimed, looking at all of his distant cousins. "You really think it's possible to change someone's memory so completely that they don't even know who they are or how old they are or whatever?"

The rest looked at Natalie.

"How old are you, Natalie?" Ian asked her.

Natalie thought about it for a moment. "Twelve...?" She asked it more than said it. She chewed on her lip anxiously.

Jonah fell back on his chair in disbelief. "That is just... Wow," he breathed, feeling utterly slumped.

Victoria rubbed her temple with her free hand. She tried her best to zone back in the conversation. "That's the last made-up story I told her," she informed them, recalling the last time she was in the white room with Natalie. "The birthday she supposedly spent with –"

"My brother in the zoo," Natalie filled in almost immediately. "That's why I remember what a fish is!" Her face lit up, feeling a sudden spurt of gladness that she could figure something out for herself.

Victoria raised her eyebrows at her to prove her point.

"But..." Natalie hesitated before continuing. "I remember eating chocolate while walking behind Mo – Isabel," she said quickly, catching on that Isabel is not a favourite amongst these people. "And then... my brother – I'm not sure which one – scolded me because I was eating like a poor person."

Ian sat up straight. His amber eyes suddenly lighted up with hope. "That's me. You were seven, I think," he said, keeping the excitement from his voice. "Isabel was wearing a..."

"Long, red dress," Natalie answered. The giddiness burned brighter in her chest.

Ian nodded. It was like the two Kabra siblings shared the hopeful spark, so obvious in their identical amber eyes. "Yes. And we were going where?" he urged.

Natalie shut her eyes closed. _Too bad._ The giddiness started to ooze out of her as she realized she doesn't know where. "Um... In the park?" She bit her lip restlessly.

Ian sighed, but he could still feel the energy in his blood. "We were going to Aunt Jane's manor," he said lightly.

Natalie pursed her lips. "But there was a huge, freshly-mowed lawn and lots of trimmed bushes and children playing," she insisted.

"Yes, well, that is her lawn which is right in front of her Victorian house," Ian reminded her.

Natalie closed her eyes again, trying to conjure an image of a Victorian house. She doesn't even have any idea what a Victorian house is. "White paint all over?" she asked without opening her eyes, hoping she gets it right this time. The bright, happy feeling still isn't back and the trepidation replaced it. When she finally did open her eyes, Ian was smiling at her.

Ian nodded again, feeling proud of his sister. "White paint all over," he agreed.

Dan looked at Victoria without any friendliness. He was still wound up with the whole 'let's scare Natalie' antic. "How come she remembers that?" he challenged her. "Personally, I wouldn't _care_ what kinda paint a house has, so we could cross out cementical or whatever that is –"

"Semantically," Hamilton and Sinead corrected him, sounding exasperated.

Dan looked at them. "Okay... Creepers much." He shook his head. "Anyway, how do you explain that? Huh?"

Alistair had the answer for that one. "It's because the process wasn't completed," he told him. He turned his attention to Victoria again. "You've only had her for what, weeks?"

Victoria nodded mutely.

"See?" Alistair said. "For the 'poison' to take its effect on young Victoria and the others, it must've taken their entire childhood which explains the orphanage."

Nobody knew what to say to that. No matter how harsh Victoria... and the others had been, nobody deserves to have their past altered so much that they pretty much don't have a say to them.

"Okay," Ian considered. "But we can't still be certain that Alexander is Nikolai, can we?"

Alistair nodded. "Maybe," he allowed.

"What do you mean, maybe?" Sinead asked. She threw her hands in the air exasperatedly. "He died, remember? The whole Cahill world knew that."

"Yes, well." Alistair took a seat before continuing. Standing for too long isn't good for an aging man. "Cahills at that time have had their doubts –"

"Doubt is a Cahill's best friend," Jonah said wisely.

"And many suspected that little Nikolai is not dead," Alistair went on, looking as if he hadn't heard Jonah's comment. "Isn't it odd how Isabel suddenly seems so agitated to order Irina to go to a mission and how, upon returning, Nikolai turns out to be dead because he was ill?"

"Yeah, but Nikolai was ill before she even left," Amy told him.

"And could you guess who visited their lovely home _days _before Nikolai got sick?" Alistair countered.

Hamilton whistled. "Gotta admire Isabel and her dirty works. They span throughout the ages," he said, his disgust evident in his tone. "No offense, man," he added, looking at Ian.

"Believe me," Ian replied forebodingly. "None taken."

Alistair went on with his story. "Cahills might have been fighting each other for ages, but great minds think alike. Especially with regards to conspiracy." His glasses glinted as he reached for his cane. "I heard talk from different branches – except the Madrigals, of course –"

"Why exclude our branch?" Dan exclaimed, sounding offended.

"Because he has no idea about the whole Madrigals-are-peacemakers thing yet, doofus," Amy said, realizing that she fell into the same pattern with her brother after such a long time. The pattern where he says stupid thing and she corrects him, knowing full well he probably isn't listening to logic anyway.

"That," Alistair continued pointedly, "Isabel might be a mole set by the Vespers."

"So that's basically the whole reason why she married Vikram," Ian chuckled harshly. "What a –"

"Continue that sentence, young man, and I will make sure you regret it."

Ian stiffened. That voice. Impossible...

"I should have known," Alistair laughed good-naturedly, although his eyes looked awfully guarded. "That you would be here. I was wondering what happened to my other pilot."

Vikram Kabra, an older version of his son, smirked back. For that one second, everybody saw Ian's image flicker into Vikram. The smirk, the angular features, the proud gait. Everything screamed father-son relationship. Vikram looked dashing in the white pilot uniform with the epaulets on the shoulders. His matching cap is tucked under his arm. He made the mundane uniform look a million bucks. Vikram wore the exact same carefree and superior aura as Ian and looked as picture perfect as his daughter, Natalie. "I'm surprised you just found out, Oh," he said just as casually as Alistair. He flicked an imaginary dust off his shoulder. "What gave me away?"

"The medical kit seems to be missing something I liked to call... antiseptic," Alistair said with a chuckle. "Do you want me to treat your wounds?"

Vikram smiled and surprisingly, it looked genuine which is a shock because Amy was sure Vikram would be so much like his wife, if not worse. "No, thank you," he said genially. "I have them under control."

"How was Africa, my good friend?" Alistair asked conversationally.

Sinead looked at Hamilton with mild alarm in her eyes. _Sure, this isn't weird at all_, she seemed to be telling him. Hamilton discreetly pulled her closer to him, knowing full well what this older Kabra is capable of. His dad has told him enough stories to avoid being all friendly with Vikram Kabra. He stood in front of her slightly. Victoria decided to stay out of this one and make herself as invisible as she could manage. She kept her defense up in case casualness leads to casualties.

"Very hot this time of year, actually," Vikram replied, looking at his coffee-toned skin. He looked at Hamilton. "Don't worry, lad. I wasn't planning on attacking anybody on this plane, especially not your little girlfriend."

Hamilton rolled his eyes like, _Yeah, sure_.

"Speaking of girlfriends!" Vikram slammed his fist on his palm as if he forgot something important. He twirled around to look at Amy who was sitting not far away from Ian. The young, reddish-brown haired girl was twirling a stray of her locks into a knot tensely. "You must be Amy Cahill," he told her, looking so fatherly that Amy felt a punch in her gut as she remembered her own dad. "You look so much like your mother, but with a hint of your father as well. Now I see why my son took quite a liking to you. And..." He looked around until he found Dan. Unlike his sister, Dan seemed unaffected – if not, even more annoyed – about Vikram's appearance. "Daniel Arthur Cahill. My, my. Aren't you the little Arthur Josiah Trent?" he said fondly.

Dan snorted. "Wouldn't you know, you murderer," he said just as fondly.

Vikram's eyes glinted happily at the fire in Dan's eyes. "I can see Grace in there, too," he told him honestly. Then, he caught sight of a girl with long, silky black hair shaking behind Dan. "Is that my little princess?" he whispered so heartbreakingly, Leonardo di Carpio would be put to shame. He made a move to approach her.

"Don't even think about it," Ian snapped, positioning himself between Dan and Natalie, and his father. "What are you doing here?"

Vikram took a surprised step back, but that does not fool anybody. Everybody knows a Kabra is never taken by surprise. If anything, he probably expected Ian to be that defensive. "Why, to clear my name, of course! Word is being passed around that I'm an idiot who swallowed your mother's stories," he said as if it was the most obvious thing in the world.

"Aren't you?" Ian raised an eyebrow.

Vikram smiled calmly at his son. "I am still your father, Ian Kabra. Do not disrespect me," he said, using the stern tone he always use when disciplining his children.

"Such a Luke-Darth Vader moment," Dan said, glaring at Vikram.

Vikram turned his attention back to Dan... More specifically, to the person hiding behind him. "Natalie?" he called, using the voice he calls her with when she was just five years old and he came home from work. It was always that tone that made his son and daughter come scrambling down the long, winding staircase to greet him and his presents.

Ian flinched almost imperceptibly at the familiar tone. He used to call him using that voice, too. He held his ground between his sister and his father.

Natalie whimpered behind Dan.

"We're landing in the Cahill manor in approximately fifteen minutes," the pilot's voice came.

Sinead stared at Vikram. "If you're here, then who's..." she trailed off, pointing at the mini speaker instead.

Ian recognized the voice. So did Jonah and Hamilton.

"Adhiraj," they said in unison, sounding not too happy about it.

"You got that right, you miserable maggots," Adhiraj announced, sounding somewhat self-satisfied that he had outsmarted all of them.

**oooooOooooo**

**So yep. A little Kabra family reunion. **

**Anyway, before I start with my big announcement, I just want to ask you guys if I should change the pairing category of this story from Amy C. and Ian K. to Sinead S. and Hamilton H. Oh my gosh. I just had a major eureka moment. Look. Sinead S. That's 'S.S.' Hamilton H. That's 'H.H.' Coincidence?**

**I THINK NOT.**

**Haha.**

**Tell me your opinion about this subject matter. Haha. Sounded so formal. **

**Now for the big announcement. It's not really that big and I'm just exaggerating. So basically, if any of you are interested to read two to three chapters of a FICTION (sorry, it's not a fan fiction this time) story that I have been working on, please PM me or leave a review. I need a reader's comment and you guys have been very, very honest with me... The story is called The Scarlet Thread and that's still a working title. It's a detective/teen fiction and I found that I'm getting more and more terrible at writing stories. So it would be a really great Christmas gift if at least one you would tell me they'd check it out and tell me what they think. The more, the merrier. Like, I mean it. Thank you so much, you guys! **

**I'd see you all tomorrow then and I fervently hope there would be that one person who would PM me first. Or leave a review. I'd love you guys forever!**

**Anyway, I hope you read, re-read and review this chapter. Only four more to go! XD Let's make the most out of it. **

**AngelicSpring. **

**P.S. Have you noticed that my ANs are like what Youtubers say? "Leave a comment down below and subscribe! Peace!" And all that? I should be a YOUTUBER! .**

**Haha. I kid. **

**Have fun today and be safe! XD**


	19. The Eighteenth Chapter

***panting* Whew! Ha... Ha... Ha... Gosh! Never, ever, ever volunteer to babysit a two-year-old. Like, seriously, if you value your life, JUST. DON'T.**

**Hi, guys! I'm back with not one, but TWO CHAPTERS of The Start of Pain!**

***cue screaming excited audience***

**...**

**He had one job. **

***walks over to the button myself***

***screaming excited audience***

**Yep. I am back. Me and my dry humour. Excuse that. If you were wondering what on earth is AngelicSpring doing with the entire weird intro, well... I like children, I really do. But when they start screaming their little lungs off for no good reason whatsoever... **

***shudders***

**And oh my good jelly doughnuts!**

**You are absolutely right.**

**I didn't put any sneak FREAKING peek! What is wrong with me?! I hope two chapters for this day would compensate for my actions. And my super late update. :( I am so disappointed with myself, it's unbelievable. I am so, so, so ,so, sorry. **

**Moving on, thank you all so much to those people who had said they would read my story. I have sent all of you a DocX connection approval link (something like that). Thank you so much to those people who have left a review. Arigatou-gozaimasu, **beachbum999 (thanks for the suggestion XD), Guest (thank you so much for saying you'd read it. I hope there was a way I could send you the chapters, though :( Thank you. Really XD), NatalieKFan (Thank you so much! Do you have an FF account? I'm pretty sure you do, but that might be the sugar talking. Haha. I think I sent you a PM before. Thank you, though XD), JesseCPK (REALLY?! Oh no. What happened? Did you know that there is no BOOK 4, but there is a book 5 and a pre-order of book 6? I mean... wha?! Sadly, yes. When I was writing TST, the books and my story slowly became distant. I was reduced to having my story in AU. Oh well. Thanks for saying you'd read my story XD), TheUltimateArtist (well... not yet. XD), addicted2reading9 (yay! I love those kinds of stories, too. There aren't that much books about teenage detective, though. Unless I'm being a lazy person again and I'm just procrastinating to look for one. Have you read H.I.V.E? XD Thank you), magicdemi-god223 (I know! I completely forgot. I am getting old *shudder* D'aww! Thanks for the nice review XD), emmelinekat (Thank you so much! Number the Stars? Is that the one by Lois Lowry? I know! Have the books been leading our Amian ship astray? I know. I'm so sorry. I completely forgot. Hehe. Aww... Thanks. XD), Regina2111 (no worries. I am just really grateful that you guys told me you'd read my story XD), Dude (duuuuddddeee! That was a Finding Nemo reference. Anyway, I'm glad you're enjoying the story so far XD), Guest (no chocolate? I breathe chocolate. No seriously. People always say that they have no idea where I put all the chocolate I eat. Haha. Thanks. Glad you're liking it.), (another Wattpad friend! *confetti* Haha. Yeah. I guess it is now some kind of diamond. But I remain faithful to my AmIan family. XD) and Guest (I know. Like MIA at its worst from a writer. :( I disappoint myself.)** Thank you all so much. **

**On with the story. Enjoy 'cause that's what matters most.**

**Oh and yeah. In case, you're wondering, I own nothing of The 39 Clues. **

**oooooOooooo**

**Chapter 18**

The Boss looked at his 'trusted' employer. Casper Wyoming glared back at this pudgy, little nuisance.

"What do you want now?" Casper demanded roughly. Thinking better on it, he added with a hint of sarcasm, "Sir?"

The Boss nodded appreciatively. "I'm sure you know about our latest... Hm, how to put it?" He thought for a moment, obviously choosing a less violent term for the backstabbing Victoria has done. "Predicament." He looked at Wyoming straight in the eye.

Casper chuckled at the boiling hatred in The Boss' eyes. As much as he would like to shove the fact that a little girl – a mere maggot, actually – even had the nerve to think about betraying the Vespers, Casper had no heart at this moment. Maybe next time. "I am aware," was all he said, ignoring a throbbing pain on his shoulder blades.

The Boss ran his tongue over his thin lips, like a feral animal waiting to pounce on its prey. "I want her executed."

Four words.

Just four words to decide on the fate of a sixteen-year-old. Or, how was she supposed to be now again? Twenty? Twenty-two? He lost track. To be precise, he just never cared.

Casper looked uninterested. In fact, he looked so bored, one could guess that he expected The Boss to say those exact same words. Casper placed his weight on his right foot and leaned sideways. "What exactly do you want me to do?" he asked, all business now.

"Ring up your twin and come up with whatever plan to obliterate young Victoria from the world," The Boss replied simply, spinning his chair so that he was facing the huge window that serves as his office's wall. Casper frowned at The Boss' chubby, fold-filled neck.

"I don't need Cheyenne," Casper muttered. He shoved his hands in his trouser pockets. "If that is all..."

"Make sure you do it nice and easy," The Boss considered, looking out the busy street thoughtfully. "With a hint of sharp, gut-wrenching pain for –"

"For the both of them," Casper interrupted, his dark eyes glinting at the many, happy possibilities. He sure wouldn't like it. Make that little maggot go back to the dirt where he belongs. Make him realise that he's not all that after all. "I gladly accept this job... Sir." He left the room with a lighter step.

The Boss sighed. If only they had gone according to plan, none of this would have happened.

Not this soon, anyway.

**xxxOOOxxx**

Sinead rang the hidden doorbell. She didn't hear any rushing footsteps hurrying to hide the final traces of whatever mess the others have left. No panicked hissing, either. Huh. That was unexpected, indeed. After all, she purposefully texted her brothers a couple hours earlier just to make sure they have enough time to build the mansion back from the splinters they left it in. She positioned her finger to press the doorbell again when Ned opened the door, his auburn hair looking dishevelled as if he'd just come out of bed.

He yawned hugely, appraising her. "Oh. Just you," he said, sounding disappointed.

Sinead raised an eyebrow. "Oh, I'm fine, dear brother. No need to thank God that I'm alive," she said sarcastically. Ned shrugged as he opened the door wider and gestured for her to come in.

"Who's at the door?" Ted shouted from inside the house.

"Some red-headed freak," Ned called back.

"Is it the pizza guy?" Ted asked.

"No. It's our sister!"

"Oh." Ted sounded as disappointed as his brother.

Sinead rolled her eyes. "Of course," she muttered to herself. "Better the pizza guy than their sister."

Hamilton walked inside next, almost walking over Sinead. "Home sweet home!" he shouted, pumping his fist in the air. Ned shot his sister _the_ look. The one that says, _see what you did?_ "And that's the guy you chose to date," he said before leaving the room. "Could've dated the debate president in Dartmouth but, nooo..."

Sinead glared at Hamilton before stalking out the room as well and into the confines of the girls' dormitory.

Amy came in next, followed by Dan and Natalie. "What? No heroes' welcome?" Dan demanded, seeing as nobody came to greet them. Natalie looked around her in awe, her cheeks flushed as she felt something warm flood her chest. This is home. She can feel it. Amy plopped down the couch, hearing something crunch beneath her.

"What was that?" Amy asked, shocked and bewildered. She was about to reach under the cushions when Reagan and Madison came in tackling her down. Amy screamed, her karate training going completely to waste. With twins on top of you, it's really hard to process any sort of information.

Hamilton laughed as he pried his sisters away from the poor girl. "What was that for?" he asked them.

Reagan looked at Madison. "Uh... we were... going to ask for presents," Madison replied, hoping that she sounded sure.

Hamilton raised an eyebrow. "By tackling her as if you were in the finals and she had the football?" he cleared. Amy shot him a nasty look. Dan shrugged it off as he led Natalie to the most important part of the house: the kitchen.

Ian came inside with two bleary-eyed boys behind him. He looked at Amy, checking to see if there was a mountain lion on top of her. "I heard blood-curdling screaming," he said. "What happened?"

Amy sighed, burying her face in her hands. "Nothing," she replied gloomily. Ian raised an eyebrow at Hamilton instead who like Dan, merely shrugged and carried his sisters out of the living room by their collars.

Jake yawned hugely. "If you don't mind," he told them, eyeing the staircase that led to the boys' dorm like it was a stairway to heaven. "I'll be going back to my sleep which was rudely interrupted." He shot Ian a pointed look. Evan mumbled something that sounded like he was agreeing with Jake and the two of them stumbled up the stairs.

Amy watched them leave before turning to Ian. "What did you do?" she asked him with a sigh.

Ian made a face. "Apparently, I had _rudely interrupted _their sleep," he replied with a flippant roll of his amber eyes.

"They're not used to all this, you know," Amy reminded him as she watched him sit on the couch to her right.

Ian chuckled without any humour. "Ah yes. I keep forgetting since I've been immune to all this craziness ever since I was born," he told her. He turned to glare at the door which is still open and is expecting more visitors. As if on cue, Vikram came inside with Adhiraj. Alistair followed soon after and was motioning for Victoria to follow him.

"What a lovely home you have," Vikram told Amy sincerely after scanning his eyes around the elegant living room.

Amy narrowed her eyes at him. "Not like the one you burned down, but thank you," she said.

Vikram waved a dismissive hand. "Oh come now, dear girl!" he exclaimed, sounding almost tired of that topic. "Will you really hold that grudge forever? How about we forgive and forget, eh?" Amy just looked at him like he just fell out of the sky with green skin and scales, her jaw dropping down to the floor. Even Ian looked at his father incredulously.

"How about I shove your face down the toilet?" Dan answered offhandedly, his lips covered with crystal sugar. Natalie followed after him with a cinnamon bun on her hands. "Saladin's toilet."

"Who's Saladin?" Natalie asked him, nibbling on the side of the cinnamon bun.

Dan looked at her as if he just realized that she was still following him. "Oh, just the awesomest cat in the universe," he told her. Natalie nodded as if that made sense.

"Natalie, I see you've made a new friend," Vikram told his daughter, ignoring Dan's jabs. He has also noticed that Natalie's accent is so much different than his and Ian's.

Natalie pursed her lips and nodded.

Vikram looked at Ian, giving him what seemed to be a mildly accusing look. "Look at what you have done to your sister," he said, clucking his tongue as if Ian was the biggest disappointment the world has to offer. "Making friends with peasants and eating..." he waved his hand at the cinnamon bun Natalie is nibbling on. "Eating peasant food."

"No," Ian replied, returning his father's accusing stare with one of his staggering ones. "Look at what your wife has done to my sister."

Father and son stared at each for a very long time, a mixture of hatred, anger and betrayal passing through them. Amy locked eyes with Dan. _Get Natalie away from here_, she told him. Dan briefly nodded as he gently towed Natalie away. Amy thought she heard him say 'a tour of the house', but she can't be sure. With Dan it could mean anything even 'look at my pet mouse' or something. She's pretty sure she made him throw that dead rat away, though.

"Okay who turned on the Drama Channel," Ned asked, walking inside the living room as if he owned the place. "If that's you Sinead I – Whoa!" He stopped in his tracks, looking back and forth at Ian and Vikram. Ted walked in, looked at his brother's flabbergasted expression and looked at the direction he's currently ogling at. "Whoa! You found a way to clone Kabra and make the clone look older?" Ted exclaimed excitedly. "AWESOME!"

"That's his father, Einstein," Ned said sarcastically.

Ted's eyes widened. "The Lucian leader?"

"Not anymore," Ian told them, looking at them and shooting eye daggers. Ned and Ted backed away and left the room, muttering hurriedly.

Adhiraj made a disgusted face at his brother. "I told you all of these people hate you –" he started distastefully.

Ian cut him off. "Nobody likes you either," he assured his uncle frankly.

Adhiraj gave Ian one of his darkest glares. "Don't worry, lad. I hate all of you, too."

"Now that's all cleared up," Amy cut their sweet family bickering. "I hope we can now move on and deal with the matter at hand...?" She looked at Ian pointedly at this which he returned with one of his exasperated sighs. Ian just shrugged, indicating that he would behave as long as his father and/or uncle stop being such idiots.

"A very logical young woman," Vikram nodded in agreement. He shot Ian a meaningful look. "You might want to learn a few things from –"

Ian groaned, leaning his head back on the couch and pressing his hands tightly on his face. "One... Two... Three..." he counted loudly, knowing that doing it in his head would not work.

Amy swatted his arm, warning him not to take it any further than that. "So," she interceded, hoping she sounded as important she wanted to be to get these Lucians' attention. "What are our thoughts on how to approach this problem?"

"Which problem, exactly?" Alistair asked, seating himself down and offering Victoria the mini sofa beside him. Victoria sat down begrudgingly.

"Well," Amy cleared her throat, piecing out the things they need to figure out. "For Angelle's situation, we would only have to take a few samples of Natalie's blood and have Ted, Ned and Sinead check it out –"

"I'm sorry," Vikram interrupted, a bit rudely. He frowned at Amy's suggestion as if it disgusted him. "I will not have my daughter examined by a bunch of Ekats."

"Better them than you," Ian said, raising his eyebrows. Vikram opened his mouth to retort when Ian waved a dismissive hand. "Never mind. I would do the examination myself. I hope I'm competent enough." He growled the last sentence expressively, glaring at his father.

Vikram said nothing.

Amy sighed. "Okay. So Ian will do it. How about Natalie's case? What do we do?" she asked, looking around the room for ideas.

"Talking to her about past memories should work just fine," Victoria answered. She cradled her arm protectively against her chest. "The poison will wear off as long as she isn't put under distress. Keep her in a positive environment which I'm sure," she scoffed, smirking at them, "is what Cahills do best."

"Will she remember?" Ian asked, narrowing his eyes as angrily as he could because that's as far as an assault as he could get.

Victoria shrugged, immediately regretting it when a lance of pain shot through her arm. "Sure. Eighty-five per cent chance," she said.

"What's the other fifteen per cent?" Ian growled under his breath. Amy placed a restraining hand on his arm.

"She won't, but she'll still be good as new," Victoria replied. Her eyes steeled as if she doesn't mind if Ian lunged forward and punched her right now. She is prepared for any attacks.

Ian stared at her incredulously. Then he started muttering unintelligibly about 'boiling hatred' and 'accident possibilities'.

Amy breathed in through her mouth. She looked at Vikram. "You wanted to explain?" she asked him, surprised that she didn't feel as intimidated as she thought she was.

Ian shifted his incredulous expression at her. "You won't actually believe him, would you?" he asked her. Amy ignored him and waited for Vikram to speak.

Vikram returned her look with an appreciating one. "I admire your just ways, Amy," he said sincerely, her name rolling off his tongue as if he was a close relative rather than a distant murderer.

Amy is unimpressed. "My parents taught me manners," she said, hoping the jab was low enough to hit him where it could hurt.

"At such young age?" Vikram said with a smile.

Amy felt a punch in her gut. There was meaning behind those words. At such young age. How could Hope and Arthur have taught her manners when she was just seven when they died? That's what he meant. "Yes," Amy said, lifting her chin a little bit higher. "They taught me everything that you're not at such a young age because they don't want me to be as corrupted as the likes of you."

Ian glared at Vikram. "Will you explain or not?" he asked him irritably.

Vikram shrugged. "Of course," he said dramatically, as if he was performing in a play and he is actually distressed about having to explain himself.

**oooooOooooo**

**Casper is in town and he is about to make people's lives miserable. I wonder who he was talking about, though?**

**I hope you guys enjoyed that chapter.**

**Brace yourselves for the next one. **


	20. The Nineteenth Chapter

**Chapter 19**

Dan wanted to throw up. Amy had specifically told him to be very patient with Natalie, seeing how she only trusts Dan at the moment. Sinead thinks it's adorably cute and tragically forbidden at the same time. Whatever that's supposed to mean. He's sure her thoughts are in the same lane as Ian Cobra and his disgusting ideas. Seriously, that dude just won't let up and stop giving him all those murderous stares.

Anyway, back to the topic at hand. Dan shuddered from where he sat.

On Natalie's bed.

Which was in her room.

_Gross. _

Dan was sure there is some written law from all those old people's time that said it was absolutely forbidden for a teenage boy to be in his girl cousin's room.

If there wasn't, well... There should be!

This is pure torture. Dan doesn't like it. Ian is doing more than not hating it. Hamilton and Jonah are useless when it come to questioning Ian's decisions.

Natalie held up a poster for him to see. "See? Justin Drew Bieber," she said happily.

"Oh god," Dan blanched at the sight of all the CDs and posters and cr- trash in Natalie's room. It was all so... wrong. When Ian announced that Natalie's most important things from their mansion are going to be delivered soon, he wasn't expecting all this... horror. Dan personally thought they would be clothes, or personal maids. Heck, he even wish a living pony with pink bows arrived in their doorstep rather than all this junk.

"This one's One Direction," she told him, her amber eyes devoid of any joking. She began naming all of five boys. "This is Harry and this is Niall. Oh and this is-"

"Gay," Dan interrupted, glaring at all the Bieber and 1D posters.

"Pardon?" Natalie asked, looking as though he just interrupted her from a lecture about life.

Dan frowned at her, shoving the CDs as far away from him as possible with his foot. "Natalie, they're gay," he said, wrinkling his nose in disgust. Enough is enough. He'd rather put a poisoned dart in his mouth rather than endure all this.

"No, they're not," she replied seriously. She held up another poster, unperturbed by Dan's sudden hostility. "Big Time Rush -"

"No," Dan cut her off, standing up from where he was seated and getting ready to leave.

"But -"

"Natalie?"

"Yes?"

Dan gripped her shoulders and looked at her directly in the eye, holding her gaze steady and looking all serious and humorless. "They're gay," Dan repeated firmly, the matter not open to any more argument. They were silent for a long minute.

"I bet you can't sing like them," Natalie said defensively, yet quietly.

Dan stopped at that. "Excuse me?" he asked with his jade green eyes glinting dangerously and narrowing to slits.

Natalie swallowed nervously, but she hid her anxiety with a stubborn set of her jaw and her arms crossed over her chest challengingly. "You keep on saying they're gay and that they don't sing. That they only shriek. I bet you can't sing half as good as them," she told him.

"You really want to bet on that, princess?" Dan said. He has his challenged face on and if this girl thinks that those... guys are better than him, ha. Ha. Ha. "I wouldn't be so sure if I were you."

With that, he left Natalie standing alone, wondering what just happened.

**xxxOOOxxx**

"Under the mistletoe," Sinead sang quietly, dusting the top of the fireplace. She stood on her tiptoes, balancing her weight on Hamilton's back.

Hamilton is on all fours, not the very least bothered by Sinead's feather weight. "Why are you singing that?" he asked, crinkling his nose as dust bunnies fell near him.

"Hm?" Sinead looked down at him. "Oh, nothing. It's just usually this is where you put a mistletoe."

Hamilton considered that for a moment. "You mean that little piece of grass they put every Christmas?" he asked confusedly, faintly remembering having seen a tiny sprig with little circles of something on it. He also remembered excited squeals from girls, some sneaking glances at him.

Sinead stomped her foot on his back, annoyed. "It's not a little piece of grass," she said exasperatedly. "It's a symbolical and sweet plant."

_Oh god, there's the rare girl voice,_ Hamilton thought with a sigh. "I don't get it," he told her truthfully. "You cut up some leaves from a freaking tree and you put it on top of the ceiling and then what?" He just couldn't see the point of it all. It was pointless.

Sinead jumped off his back and glared at him. "You have no idea what it means, do you?" she asked with her arms crossed, looking slightly upset but he couldn't be sure.

Hamilton stood up and brushed the dirt of his pants. "No, ma'am, I do not – but you could tell me?" he called out quickly when Sinead turned on her heels at the word no and stomped off.

_Girls._

**xxxOOOxxx**

"Adhiraj is a git," Ian told her, the dishtowel making squeaky noises everytime he wipes the dishes. "He could've told me everything the moment he saw me, but he didn't because he's an idiot."

Amy smiled, biting the inside of her cheek to keep herself from laughing. Ian sounded so much like a kid who's throwing a whiny tantrum because he wasn't given what he wants. "He has his reasons," she assured him, holding out a dripping plate.

Ian took it with a roll of his eyes. "Yes, he does. And it's to annoy me," he replied matter-of-factly. "Seriously, he hates me because he always says that I'm so much like Vikram and he couldn't just get over their childhood." He saw Amy's questioning look and quickly explained. "Vikram ruined Adhiraj's childhood. Bossing him around, using darts with sleeping concoctions on him, bullying at its best mostly." Ian shrugged as if he couldn't believe that Adhiraj couldn't take such petty things.

"Typical Lucian brotherhood," Amy said drily.

Ian nodded seriously, completely missing Amy's sarcasm. "I know."

Amy rolled her eyes. "Despite that cute anecdote, I don't think your uncle's reason was merely to annoy you. Obviously, he thinks you're smart enough to figure things out. You're his nephew after all," she winked at him.

Ian shot her an exasperated look. "Me being sharp has nothing to do with my relation to that idiot."

"And," Amy said pointedly, "he must have deeper reasons of his own, so stop being a kid and be thankful."

Ian grumbled under his breath and Amy caught the words 'Madrigal thinking'. They worked in comfortable silence after that.

"What do you think about Vikram's story?" Amy said quietly, handing Ian a dripping glass.

Ian took it, breathed out and started up at the window above the sink into the starry night. "I don't know, Amy," he told her truthfully. Amy looked at his thoughtful face which as usual is devoid of any other emotion aside from curiosity. "He could be telling the truth, or he could be lying again." He looked at her with a sad smile. "I'm afraid his cunning surpasses my Lucian abilities."

Amy swallowed at the sudden eye contact. It was very, very rare that Ian looks at her in the eye and Amy looks right back. She had been extremely careful not to look at those amber orbs again for fear of falling without anybody to catch her. That would hurt. That would hurt a lot. Amy cleared her throat as she washed another dirty plate. Ian noticed that she did so with sudden ferventness. "I think," Amy started. Ian must have imagined it, but Amy's voice sounded a little shaky. "I think that it's about time we look for Isabel."

Ian nodded. He smiled that sincere smile of his. "It's going to be alright, Amy Cahill. Whatever we decide for tomorrow will go perfectly well." He laughed suddenly as a flitting thought passed his mind. "I mean, you have me on your team, right?" The sincere smile was quickly replaced by cocky smirk, although this one was more teasing than annoying.

Amy swatted his arm. "What is that supposed to mean?" she asked, finally laughing despite of his presence.

"That means our future plans will be foolproof because I'm amazing," he said with a wink.

**xxxOOOxxx**

Jonah looked over at Hamilton who was sulking unattractively on a corner. If only he knew how ugly he looks, Jonah shook his head sadly. He knows he's going to regret what he is about to do much, much later, but the bro code is just too strong.

"What's up, Hammer?" Jonah asked lightly, brushing Angelle's hair out of her face. "You look like they just banned Call of Duty."

Hamilton snorted, glaring at the wall. "Nothing's wrong. Why does it look like something's wrong?" he replied snappily, a frown threatening to embed itself on his face.

"Well, no, not really. It's just that there's a huge sign plastered on your forehead saying, 'I fought with Sinead again and I need someone to complain to'," Jonah said calmly, shrugging it off. "Probably just my imagination."

Hamilton let out an annoyed breath. "What am I supposed to do? Apparently being her boyfriend requires me to know about stupid plants as well," he grumbled, frowning deeper.

Jonah gave him a confused look. "I thought Amy assigned the both of you to clean the living room?" he asked. Apparently the others who had been at home during the time where Ian and Amy's group are trying hard not to get killed had somehow found a way to destroy the house and make it look... decent in fifteen minutes flat. However, missing Armani polo shirts from a certain somebody's wardrobe has caused suspicion and it went downhill from there. It wasn't a pretty sight especially when ruined clothes started resurfacing. The only one who didn't seemed bothered by everything was Dan. He actually looked impressed.

Hamilton chuckled darkly. "She cleaned. I became a footstool," he said.

"Okaay..." Jonah does not even want to go there. "So what is it about plants?"

"Something called missile blow," Hamilton muttered grumpily. "She started singing a weird song that I'm pretty sure was from one of those Nat's 'crushes'. And I innocently asked why she was singing that. She went on about lecturing me about a 'sweet and symbolic plant'. Then, she walked away."

"Missile blow?" Jonah looked confused again before realization smacked him in the face. "Oh no. You don't mean to say 'mistletoe', did you?"

Hamilton glared at him. "That's what I said," he insisted stubbornly.

Jonah chucked a shoe at him. "No, you idiot! Missile blow is what you're gonna get if you don't bring your sorry butt over to where she is and apologize."

Hamilton threw the shoe back at him, hitting him square in the chest. "Why do I have to apologize every. Single. Time?"

Jonah slammed his face on the warm and soft sheets of Angelle's bed. Without raising his head, he said, "Because a girl mentioning mistletoe means..."

Jonah watched as his burly cousin left the room, noticing how red Hamilton's ears were.

"Yeah, that was Hamilton," Jonah told Angelle. "He hasn't changed one bit. He might have gotten himself a smart girlfriend, but that didn't improve his common sense. Not one bit."

If Angelle could only talk past her coma, she would have told him just how alike they were.

"Sinead's making your antidote though, so who am I to complain, right?" Jonah shrugged, chuckling good-naturedly to himself.

Angelle wanted to roll her eyes so bad, especially since she can't smack him upside the head just yet.

**oooooOooooo**

**Kinda felt weird... Not having any AN on top.**

**I hope I've cleared out most of the misunderstood concept of the story so far and if there are major knots I've missed, please tell me. XD**

**Also, to those people who have received the confirmation for the DocX connection, I hope to be hearing from you awemazing people soon. If all goes well, I will be posting that story on Wattpad. Yep. I have an account there, for those who fell off their seats in shock. Haha. I'm tantei_mika_chan there, so if you want to look me up on Wattpad, feel free to leave a message. XD**

**Read, re-read and review?**

**Anyways, here is something I missed doing.**

**QUESTION of the DAY:**

**Have you guys read The Fault in our Stars? What have you been reading these days?**

**And,**

**SNEAK PEEK for Chapter 20:**

Ian pursed his lips. "The others who had... devastated the mansion while we were gone are now in Fiske's safekeeping, Natalie," he reassured her. "He's a good man, if not strict."

Hamilton snorted distractedly. "Yeah. Strict is what I'd call grounding the whole boys' dorm because a certain Kabra thought it would be nice to play Romeo in the middle of the night and –" A flying pillow came soaring down Hamilton's mouth. Hamilton looked up at the innocent look Ian is wearing, but he could have sworn the moment their eyes locked, Ian glared at him with a look of murder.

"Ham, just shut up and try not to get yourself killed," Sinead stage-whispered. Hamilton frowned at her, said nothing and went back to fiddling with her fingers.

Amy went back to her leadership dress. She has been wearing this persona more often than what she hoped she is required to. "Sinead, how's the antidote going?" she asked her best friend.

**Lastly... I have found this cute little website where you could ask people anonymously about anything under the sun or over the moon. Here is my profile: ** (slash)AngelicSpring. So ask me anything. XD I'll be waiting for your questions. :)****

**Last TWO chapters when I update next, you awemazing people!**

**Belated Merry Christmas and Happy New Year! **

**See you real soon.**

**AngelicSpring loves you all. **


	21. The Twentieth Chapter

**Thank you for all you awesometastic people who reviewed The Start of Pain and got the count OVER 200 reviews! That is insane! Thank you so much, you guys! Thank you also for being very, very, very patient with me. I know that I have become very irresponsible and I'm very sorry to disappoint all of you. But i keep returning to because of you amazing people. All of you, readers, reviewrs, favorite-rs. Seriously, you put up with my ADHD too many times than I can remember and I won't stop thanking you all for that. **

**With my heart filled with gratitude, I thank: **beachbum999 (I love Big Time Rush myself! Oh my flippin' gosh! I freakin' love Logan! Writing in a guy's POV – especially Dan's – is really difficult. They immediately hate another guy that a girl talks about. Hahaha.), JesseCPK (Hahaha. If Natalie is back to the Natalie Kabra, Dan would have gotten more than a smack – like for rizzles), addicted2reading9 (Well, it's kind of like a slightly younger and a bit more contemporary than A Walk to Remember – by contemporary, I mean the book talks more like most teenagers nowadays. Haha. It's a good read. Oh my gosh! Nancy Drew! I've been reading those since I was in fourth grade! Like that is THE first hardbound book I have ever owned. XD I want to read this Clarity book you speak of. Seriously, HELP! I need more good books to read.), Candyloversunite15 (First of all, I love candy, too! Hahaha. Oh my freakin' gosh, I read, re-read, re-read what I've re-read and – You get me. And I keep crying like every. Single. Time. Oh AUGUSTUS WATERS!), emmelinekat (Hahaha. I know. I love how Ned and Ted are not those really stingy kind of people, but kinda regular brothers... Only more Cahill. Hahaha. Thanks.), Regina2111 (Oh my gosh! That's so cute! Hahaha. We should probably wish Hamilton good luck in this one.), magicdemi-god223 (I know, right? I wonder what Vikram's up to... Oh well, if Dan IS jealous... NATAN FTW! The cleanliness involved shoving things under the couch and stuffing the pantry with things that aren't supposed to be in the pantry. Oh sorry 'bout not explaining in PM :( Basically, I just wanted to show that Angelle kind of hears everything, but is still pretty unconscious. Oh thank you. I hope I don't disappoint with these last chapters.), Mila-is-a-bookworm-101 (Hope you like these! XD), Jolinila C (OH MY GOSH! THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR REVIEWING EVERY SINGLE CHAPTER OF THE START OF TRAIN AND PAIN! LIKE SERIOUSLY THAT IS PURE AND SHEER AWESOMENESS! Thank you. *I've calmed down now* Hope you like these chapters as well! XD Molly's the girl who asked Dan to the dance apparently. The letter was found by our loving Ian Kabra in the mail and he thought it would be... prudent to post the info on the 39 Clues message board.), Aafubbaia (Hahaha. Thanks for noticing. Actually, I kind of hesitated with my choice of words 'cause it sounded kind of awkward. But yeah. I thought it would be funny to imagine security cams without their "heads". Hahaha. Yeah, I'm weird like that. Thanks so much!) and Guest (I hope you enjoy these chapters.) **Thank you so much again. **

**I have a dream... That you amazing people would enjoy these last chapters and that I'd get decent grades for my January modules... 'cause I really don't want to re-sit all those exams. **

**But yeah.**

**Most of all the first part, about you guys enjoying the last two chapters.**

**Hahahaha.**

**My own very, un-funny joke. **

**Sorry. **

**Although you probably are used to that by now.**

**Or not.**

**I should stop.**

**Like have you noticed how –**

**I should stop.**

**Stop.**

**Now.**

**I –**

**oooooOooooo**

**Chapter 20**

Hamilton knocked on the door tentatively. He knows how much Sinead hates it when people disturb her while she's working. You do not want to see what she did to her brothers that one time they...

Hamilton shuddered involuntarily, balancing the tray that held Sinead's lunch.

"Come in, Hamilton," Sinead called from inside. Hamilton took a second to analyze her tone. She didn't sound mad, or annoyed, or exasperated. But she didn't sound happy, either. Sinead just sounded casual. Then again, Sinead's 'casual' is the closest thing to happy when it comes to these kinds of situation. Hamilton sighed. How he hated girlfriend analysis. The scary thing is he's actually getting pretty good at it, if it was a subject he'd probably get an A+.

He was about to open the door when it suddenly flew wide open in front of him. Sinead stood inside, dark circles under her eyes and her pulled on top of her head in a really, really messy bun. She yawned hugely before saying, "What do you need, Hamilton?"

Hamilton took another long second to appraise her chosen look before he gently pushed his way inside the room, all without saying anything. Sinead rolled her eyes at his back. He set the steaming bowl of soup beside the fried rice. "You look like death," he said plainly.

Sinead snatched a prawn cracker and popped it in her mouth. "Yeah, 'cause girls like it when their boyfriend tells them they look like death," she said sarcastically. "Do you have any other things to do here before I snap your neck?"

"That's really cute, Sinead," Hamilton waved the empty threat away. "Thinking that you could actually take me down in a fight."

Sinead pursed her lips thoughtfully. "I could," she told him.

"Sure you could," Hamilton drawled patiently.

"Bring it," Sinead said bravely, making no move from where she was seated.

Hamilton rolled his eyes. "I did not just walk over to your favourite Chinese store and buy all these things to see them get cold because you want me to beat you so bad in, what? A thumb wrestling competition?"

Sinead held out her hand. "Give me my noodles," she said with a sigh. "If you keep on evading me whenever I challenge you in a fight, I might be reduced to thinking that you're afraid to lose to me." She blew on the steaming noodles before stuffing a big chopstick-full in her mouth.

"Keep thinking that," Hamilton replied unaffectedly, plopping down beside her with his fried rice. He looked at all the microscopes and bubbling whatever around the room. "Have you made the antidote yet?"

"Is my name Sinead Starling?" she replied cheekily, mouth still full. She reached over and took a dumpling from Hamilton's fried rice. "It was fairly easy. The poison in Natalie's blood is the antidote itself. I just had to test it to make sure. When I was five hundred per cent sure, I just had to alter some of its genetic components to make them multiply once inside Angelle's bloodstream, so to speak. That will be finished in," she quickly glanced at her watch, "thirty minutes, max."

Hamilton nodded as he chewed, used to Sinead's scientific mumblings. He is starting to understand a third of what she's babbling about. Although he is not sure whether that's a good or bad thing yet. "Yeah, well, Wizard's getting pretty anxious," he said. He shook his head, looking at Sinead. "I don't get why he's so excited for Angelle to wake up when he knows he'd get his butt kicked the second she opens her eyes."

Sinead shrugged. "Boys are masochistic," she said frankly. Hamilton snatched the innocent, little crabstick on Sinead's bowl and quickly put it in his mouth. Sinead let out an annoyed whine. "I was saving that for last," she complained, whacking Hamilton on the arm over and over.

"You took my dumpling," Hamilton argued a mock wounded expression on his face. "I was saving _that _for last."

"No, you weren't," Sinead grumbled, attacking the rest of her noodles with gusto.

Hamilton studied her for a long moment and then he sighed. "You're right. Boys are masochistic," he said resignedly. Sinead smirked triumphantly without looking up at him. "Girls are just as sadistic."

**xxxOOOxxx**

They were all gathered in the living room, seated in a full circle. Amy looked around nervously, feeling Ian's calm presence beside her. It was so annoying how he could keep calm at such situations. The whole world probably would be in a major apocalypse before he would even think of raising an eyebrow. Yet that is one of the many, many, many things she admires about him.

Sinead sat on Amy's right hand side and she looked impatiently guarded, occasionally glancing at Vikram. Hamilton fiddled with her fingers absentmindedly. Jonah sat next to him, glaring at the sappiness his cousin is currently showing. Dan and Natalie sat next to the gangsta. Vikram, Adhiraj, Alistair and Victoria sat in the circle begrudgingly, keeping their distance from each other and from the group.

Natalie whispered something in Dan's ear. Dan sighed. "They were kicked out of the mansion," he told her. Natalie's eyes widened fearfully. "Don't worry. They're probably in the headquarters doing community service or something." Dan waved his hands as if that could make her worries evaporate. "As for Evan, Jake and Atticus... Well, they're out of Cahill business for a little while."

Ian pursed his lips. "The others who had... _devastated_ the mansion while we were gone are now in Fiske's safekeeping, Natalie," he reassured her. "He's a good man, if not strict."

Hamilton snorted distractedly. "Yeah. Strict is exactly what I'd call grounding the whole boys' dorm because a certain Kabra thought it would be nice to play Romeo in the middle of the night and –" A flying pillow came soaring down Hamilton's mouth. Hamilton looked up at the innocent look Ian is wearing, but he could have sworn the moment their eyes locked, Ian glared at him with a look of murder.

"Ham, just shut up and try not to get yourself killed," Sinead stage-whispered. Hamilton frowned at her, said nothing and went back to fiddling with her fingers.

Amy went back to her leadership dress. She has been wearing this persona more often than what she hoped she is required to. "Sinead, how's the antidote going?" she asked her best friend.

"Already done. Although I wanted to run a few more tests before we inject the serum into Angelle's bloodstream," Sinead informed her. Jonah wrinkled his nose thoughtfully, nodding his head in appreciation.

"An Ekat who has developed a sense of sample preservation," Vikram murmured in silent curiosity. "My, my. Haven't this batch evolved?"

"Ignore him," Ian intercepted quickly, seeing the hurt look in Sinead's eye and the defiance in Hamilton's. "Just pretend he's not there."

"Hard to do when his ego is occupying half the room," Hamilton growled back.

"How long before we can be certain, then?" Amy asked with a submissive sigh, blocking Ian's warning glares and Hamilton's disappointed stares.

"Tomorrow we can inject it," Sinead replied with certainty. "Unless, of course, _somebody_ has a problem with that." She shot Vikram a haughty look which he returned with a wordless yet highly arrogant shrug. It was amazing how he could make a mundane shrug of the shoulders seem like something kings and queens do. Just as Ian displayed his aura of calm and repose, Vikram emitted stately regal with every move.

Amy was looking across the room when something caught her eye. It was Dan... looking constipated. Either that or he was thinking about something really hard. Like when there is this one question in his Math homework that he can't solve which apparently had been especially included for him because the teachers know it was only him who could solve it. His jade green eyes would look at the page intensely, his eyebrows all scrunched up, a seemingly permanent frown on his lips. With a raised eyebrow, Amy followed his stare. Dan was looking at Victoria who looked like she'd rather burn alive than be with all of them in one room.

"Dan...? Is there something you wanted to bring up?" Amy asked, looking at her brother pointedly. Dan merely shushed her and waved his hands as if she were a fly than needed shooing. Amy looked at Ian who sighed as if this was normal.

"Okay," Amy tried to collect her thoughts. "How 'bout Natalie? Any progress?"

Dan snapped to attention at that. "Well, if you call extreme fangirling to the point of being an utter lunatic progress, then yes. There is most certainly progress." Natalie frowned at him, her cheeks puffed and eyebrows furrowed to make a face akin to pouting.

Ian chuckled once, but when he caught Amy's questioning stare, he smoothly covered it with a cough. He waved his hand as if to say, _carry on._

"I thought her prized possessions came?" Amy asked, looking confused.

Dan shot Ian a scorching glare. "Yeah. Well, what your boyfriend here forgot to mention because he was such an idiot was that her 'prized possessions'," Dan said, making quotation marks in the air, "were all girl stuff."

"I _am_ a girl," Natalie said indignantly.

"You said it, girl," Jonah declared, snapping his fingers.

"You go, girl," Hamilton piped in, trying to sound like Honey Boo Boo. Sinead glared up at him, unsure whether she should get mad or laugh at the funny face he has on. Hamilton and Jonah fist-bumped each other instead.

Dan glared at the two of them. "I am not stepping in that room. Ever. Again." He looked at Ian and Amy with disappointed looks. "You do know that _all of this help... does not come... for free,... right?_" He started to trail off. His eyes widened as he looked at Victoria again.

"You're that dude's sister!"

**xxxOOOxxx**

Maria cowered in her seat, trying to scoot closer to Jared who merely looked impassively at the fuming Alex.

"I never knew that those two words would go great as swear words," Jonathan said appreciatively. He stabbed a finger at Alex' direction. "You, sir, a master of swear words."

Alex slammed his palms on the long, wooden table. Maria lost grip on her sketchpad and it fell on the carpeted floor with a dull thud. "THIS IS ALL YOUR FAULT, YOU –" Alex growled just as Jonathan held up a hand to stop him.

"As much as I would like to hear what clever insult you'd call me this time," Jonathan began, "I believe that isn't why you called us to this little banquet." He gestured at the huge bowl of fruits in the middle of the table. Maria chuckled once and quickly coughed to hide it. Jared looked at the nonchalant demeanour Jonathan is displaying. He shook his head as if he was witnessing a burning building right before his very eyes.

Alex isn't done fuming. He started listing all the things in their plans which have gone wrong. "We haven't separated that stupid Cahill blood like planned, Victoria's missing, that Kabra brat was taken and –"

Jonathan whistled. "Sounds like trouble," he said, making a disappointed clicking sound with his tongue.

"I thought we had agreed that there was nothing to separate from the Cahill blood?" Jared interjected, noticing the look of blood-red murder that flashed in Alex' eyes.

"We didn't agree," Alex snapped back. "Victoria gave up."

Jonathan narrowed his eyes at the younger boy. "She didn't give up. Why don't you try separating the blood samples yourself?"

"Their blood is tainted with scientific serum, Jonathan," Alex growled. "That should leave a mark."

"Even after five hundred years?" Jonathan challenged.

Alex yelled, slamming his palms on the table once more, much, much louder this time. The table actually shook from the force, threatening to fall over. "Isabel showed me the proof! Just because you people are incompetent doesn't mean it's not there!"

"Why don't you let Isabel do it then? Since she's so majestic?" Jonathan bristled. "She gave us the instructions and we followed them. But did it go as she had predicted?"

Alex glared at him.

"It didn't," Jonathan continued, leaning back on his chair. "She gave us all those poison to inject that could 'activate the serum in a certain way', apparently." He made quotation marks in the air. "Then, we took endless samples from all those Cahills, but did the glowing thingies showed up? No."

"You did it wrong," Alex insisted angrily.

Jonathan looked at him with amused yet annoyed admiration. "You are a piece of work, you are."

Maria watched their heated banter wordlessly. This is making her nervous. She looked over at Jared. She knows he would be calm about all this, hiding all his emotions in a poker face. Jared was looking at the two older boys as well, but with a calculating expression as if he was deciding who would disintegrate at the other's glare first.

"We don't even know if the serum we injected counteracted the original serum," Jonathan said. "Isabel is just spouting a whole load of b-"

Alex moved blindingly fast. In a split second, the glass was off the table, sailing over the room, directed at Jonathan's mouth. It shattered on the floor before Jonathan could blink. Beside it was an open sketchbook.

Alex stared at the standing figure of Maria who had her hands still poised when she threw the sketchbook in the air to block the glass. There were tears pooling over her eyes. "I-I-I... We shouldn't be fighting like this," she said in a small voice, avoiding Alex' glare. "We're on the same team."

Jared tensed. He could see blind anger burning deep in Alex' eyes. Jared was sure Alex could hurt Maria without a second thought. He wasn't sure... He actually wasn't sure whether he would throw himself between Alex and Maria. What he does know is he doesn't want her to get hurt... But that is illogical. If he helped Maria, it would result in too many problems that could have been prevented. Alex would think all three of them are starting to go soft and consider them traitors without any argument thereafter.

But if he didn't... Alex would slit her throat.

Jared's jaw tightened. How he hated this feeling. This must be what the Cahills normally go through as they battle out logic and emotions. He watched as Alex' glare intensified. He needed to make a plan soon...

Instead, Alex let out a long breath like he's breathing out all his anger, frustration, all the hatred. But that was impossible. By now, it's becoming very evident that Alex is being swallowed by the unsaid hatred he has for Ian Kabra. Nobody spoke for a long time. "Fine," he said in conceding tone. "But know this..." He looked at everybody across the room. He threw a manila folder in the middle of the table. The logo of the Council is stamped on the front and there was a single A4 paper inside. _Plan X: The Elimination_, it read.

"Ian Kabra is my kill."

**xxxOOOxxx**

She hoisted her backpack up her shoulders and slid the window wide open. She can't stay here anymore. She has other plans to do and there are widely more important than this. Moreover, _they_ would be looking for her any moment now. And if those Vespers are smart – which they are – they would look for her in this manor first of all.

She can't believe that idiot Jonathan would do something as risky as that. _God, he is so stupid sometimes_, she thought, her eyes stinging. If the others find out, they would... Victoria shook her head and slung her backpack over her shoulder before the tears could start falling.

"Leaving without saying goodbye?"

She stopped, her right foot already on top if the sill. She smirked at the casual, British accent he used. "I have other places to be, Mr Ian Kabra," Victoria replied, stretching her bended knee without so much as a glance in his direction. Her face darkened, her voice was devoid of any emotion. "The others would be coming soon if I don't leave now."

"I see," Ian said quietly. He hesitated before surrendering. It's no use anyway... to offer her help that she would never accept. He himself would not have liked it if some stranger offered him help, even though it was obvious he needed it. People like them value pride more than anything. Or maybe for her, this isn't a question of pride at all. Maybe it was something else. Something valuable that Ian has come to cherish because of recent events. _Family._ Ian fought against the stronger urge to offer help. "Best of luck to you, then."

She nodded before jumping out the window and landing on the ground with the slightest thump. "I'm sure we'll be meeting halfway," she said, loud enough for him to hear.

Ian smiled sadly. "I do hope so," he murmured, locking the door as he left the room. He cannot shake the odd feeling that the next time they meet, the circumstances won't be pretty.

**oooooOooooo**

**That is a pretty long chapter, wasn't it? It took a good seven pages long without the ANs. Haha. **

**Did ya like it?**

**Well, get ready 'cause there's more where that came from.**

**Well, actually the epilogue is shorter but...**

**You know what I mean, right?**

**Aw, I'm doing it again, aren't I?**

**Isn't all these one-sentence thing fun?**

**No?**

**Guess not.**

**Anyw –**


	22. EPILOGUE

**Don't forget to vote on the poll on my profile. Love ya. **

**oooooOooooo**

**EPILOGUE.**

**7:10:58 a.m., 01 March**

"Yeah, if you Holts would actually help in cleaning up, that'd be great."

Reagan and Madison Holt glared at Ned Starling.

Ted pulled his brother backwards. "Yeah, if you would stop being stupid and suicidal and trying to get me in every trouble, _that'd_ be great," he told him harshly, using the same sarcastic tone Ned used awhile ago.

Phoenix and Keightlyn sighed, stabbing the trash around the HQ with their pointy-at-the-end stick thingy and feeling sullen. "I'd rather beg for forgiveness than stand under this sun," Keightlyn groaned, wiping the sweat off her neck. She dropped her pointy stick on the floor and fixed her ponytail.

"Like we haven't tried that," Phoenix said morosely. He glared at the blaring sun. "We didn't even do anything wrong."

"That's why we only get twelve hours of community service," Keightlyn reminded him. "The others get, like, 48 or something."

Phoenix considered that for a moment. Then, he frowned. "Still." He thought about how lucky Atticus was. Fiske took one good look at him and immediately decided that he didn't do anything wrong. He didn't do anything wrong, but he and Keightlyn did?

_Okay, that is a bit unfair_, Phoenix decided. _Atticus really didn't do anything. But... still._ Phoenix groaned. Perks of being a Cahill.

Suddenly, Reagan shouted. Phoenix and Keightlyn looked at them, thinking that the four got into some kind of brawl again. Instead, Reagan was on all fours, gasping for breath with one hand clutching her chest. She grew really, really pale as her breathing got heavier. Madison crouched low beside her sister, calling her name over and over, but got no response. Ted grabbed Reagan by the shoulders and urged her to calm down and match the pace of his breathing. Phoenix recovered first and let go of his stick. He started running towards the HQ to alert Fiske when he doubled over. He fell on his chest in a heap. Unmoving. Red fluid started pooling around him. Keightlyn shrieked. Madison started crying as Reagan's eyes rolled over her lids.

Ned stabbed the first button on his phone. Before Fiske could pick up, Reagan and Phoenix started convulsing.

**xxxOOOxxx**

**4:18:30 p.m., 28 February**

"That's my girlfriend, Sinead Starling," Hamilton told them, pointing at the auburn-haired girl talking animatedly to a museum curator. While Sinead went to ask the curator about one of the fossils on display, Hamilton met up with two of his Tomas friends who hollered his name from the other side of the hall.

Henry narrowed his eyes as he followed Hamilton's extended finger. He saw the redhead girl he was pointing at. He squinted. "Is she talking to that old guy that owns this dustbin?" he asked disbelievingly.

"Yeah. This is one of the museum's she hasn't been into and she was really looking forward to it," Hamilton replied, smiling at the sudden flush of excitement that lit up Sinead's entire features.

"You have your dates in a museum?" Luke spluttered in the same disbelieving tone as Henry.

Hamilton nodded, not noticing his friends' guarded expressions. "She's an Ekat, you see," he told them with a hint of pride in his voice.

"She's an Ekat," Henry and Luke echoed, their voices sounding as hollow as a cave. Oh, Holt's in so much trouble with the clan now.

Hamilton made a face at them. "Yeah, you just pretty much repeated what I said," he said, irritated. He was completely oblivious to their inner thoughts and could only think of introducing Sinead to them. Because that would go really well.

His friends had their mouth wide open when Sinead finally joined them.

This was going to be very difficult for both parties.

**xxxOOOxxx**

**8:21:17 p.m., 01 March**

A resounding thwack from the room echoed to the corridor, making the Cahills flinch. Jonah Wizard's yell of complaint followed soon afterwards. More yelling which suspiciously sounded like arguing with a good choice of words started. Angelle's annoyed voice reverberated relatively louder than Jonah's. Natalie cowered behind Dan.

"Yep. The antidote worked," Dan declared happily, looking at all of them.

**xxxOOOxxx**

**8:21:17 p.m., 01 March**

Ian leaned closer, ignoring the loud beating of his heart. It was getting deafening, really. At the back of his mind, he was aware of worrying whether Amy could hear every nervous thump. But there are much more important things to think of. Or not. Because if there was a perfect moment to kiss Amy Cahill it would be now, right now with the silver moonlight, the peaceful surroundings, the gentle breeze, nobody to interrupt whatsoever.

Amy closed her eyes tightly as she felt the tip of his nose touching hers, knowing that his lips are only millimetres away from her now. Just a little...

Bit...

More...

They could feel each others' shallow breath on their cheeks, the moment seemingly endless. The tip of the lips touched and it was right there. They could both feel it –

"Ian! Come quick!" somebody yelled from inside the house.

Ian started as did Amy who opened her eyes in shock and jumped a good couple of centimetres from where she was seated. The beautiful scenario dissolved like somebody ripped a record out, leaving only an uneasy silence. Ian leaned away slightly taking in a slow, long and shaky breath though his mouth. Amy cleared her throat awkwardly, leaning away, too.

"Well," Ian said breathily, preventing the word to come out as a growl. He swallowed audibly. Amy looked at him expectantly. They studied each other's faces, noting the slightest pink on the cheeks if the other. "Somebody had better be dying in there," he continued after a long pause, jumping from the hedge and stalking inside the house. His annoyance glowed and Amy permitted herself an amused smile.

She wasn't the only one disappointed.

**oooooOooooo**

**Heads-up for those who got the meme reference. Hahaha.**

**Anyhoo. That's it. It's over.**

**The second instalment is over.**

**And you might be noting how I'm being all dramatic, but I always am. Whenever a story ends. You know how you just want to keep on writing about a story, but you also know that it doesn't work that way? Stories are meant to end?**

**Anyhoo. I have news. Like good news, better news and bad news. **

**Which do you want first?**

**...**

**...**

**So yeah, I'll pretend you said bad news. **

**Bad news is... I might be a bit inactive in FF for a little while, BUT I won't be giving it up. I would come back to it after some time, like when all this crazy talk about university application and work experience and taster days is over. So yeah. **

**I won't stop writing stories however, which brings me to my good news.**

**I have decided to put up a story on Wattpad and it isn't the detective thing I was telling you guys before, but a horror/romance/teen fiction kind of thing called The Infinite Council. I'm still not sure how that would turn out, but yeah. If with the first chapters it didn't go well, then I'd probably put it down but I won't stop writing it only because I developed a crush on my main character. Hahaha. Is that weird, or really just AngelicSpring-ish? I would be posting it sometime this Easter and I would be posting a sneak peek especially for you guys here on after this long-ish AN. **

**I know that it sounds really cruel, how I've suddenly switched to writing fiction stories and I'm really sorry. I just wanted to try my grounds outside of fan fiction for a little while. At some point I'd probably end up juggling –**

**Which brings me to my better news!**

**I will – WILL – write a third instalment to The Start series which would be the last. It probably would be shorter than 20 chapters; I'm still working on it. I'm waiting for inspiration for a FREAKING explosive conclusion. I have the gist for the last instalment, but I want it to be as amazing as possible for all of you. So I really hope you would wait for that. **

**As I was saying. At some point I'd probably end up juggling those two stories if everything goes better than expected. So yeah. I hope I could start the last instalment during the summer holidays. Or earlier. **

**Those are my news. Thank you again for going through this writing journey with me this year. That's really awesome. I hope you'd get to accompany me again on Wattpad. I have changed my username to AngelicSpring now. **

**Thank you for all those who reviewed, favorited, read and put the story on alert. You guys have no idea how much that means to me. I literally jump in excitement everytime my mail notifications say that I have another review, that someone put the story on favorite, that somebody put me on their Favorite Authors list. Everytime. Until now. Always. It'll always be like the first time I've uploaded the first chapter of The Start of Train. The exhilaration, the excitement, the tension, the nervousness, the fear, the anxiety. Everything is like the first time. Thank you for letting me experience all those and help be become a better writer than I was before. **

**So yeah. I hope you go check my Wattpad account. You don't have to have an account or anything. Follow me on Twitter to find out when I update things and stuff like that. All of my accounts are named under AngelicSpring now. PM me here if you'd like to talk, or ask something, or anything at all. I would still reply to PMs here, so yeah.**

**Here is my exclusive sneak peek of The Infinite Council for y'all. Please vote on the poll on my profile. **

"Hi."

The bag of chips fell on the floor. The boy who had spoken bent down to pick it up. "You seriously have a knack for spilling things," he said, straightening up.

Oh no.

The dark hair, the olive skin, the angular nose, the thin lips, the dark eyes that shines brown whenever the light hits it. His accent, that dark twang, was more evident now. How had she never noticed that before? _Because you haven't talked to him before, stupid,_ her mind reminded her.

He looked at her worriedly. "Were you going to get this?" he asked, handing her the bag.

Scarlett swallowed and nodded her head mutely. She held the bag closer to her chest.

"So..."

Scarlett stared back at him, like someone caught in the middle of stealing something.

"I'm Daniel, by the way. Daniel Ibarra," he said, holding his hand out. Scarlett kept her eyes locked on his face. "Or not. That's fine, too," he mumbled, pulling his hand back.

_Say something, stupid_!, her mind shouted. You're looking like an idiot! "I... uh... um..." was all that she could say.

"Scarlett, right?" he asked, his eyebrows creasing in the most adorable way with his head slightly tilted to the side. He looked like a puppy who had woken you from your sleep and tried to make up for it by being cute.

It is working.

**That's short. Stupid me. But yeah. Vote on my poll if you want to. **

**I hope you liked The Start of Pain because I did enjoy writing about it. I hope you enjoyed the twists and turns I've put you through. **

**Till next time, you guys! I would be waiting for The House of Hades with all of you. **

**For the last time.**

**Read, re-read and review?**

**With lots of love,**

**AngelicSpring.**


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